The result of an appeal made by Taiwanese taekwondo Olympic gold medalist Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎) against a decision by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission to ban him from an election will be given soon, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Monday.
The Switzerland-based court made the statement after a hearing on Monday in which four witnesses from the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) and 10 witness from the IOC testified.
The court said it will hand down a ruling based on statements by Chu and the IOC “in a few weeks.”
CTOC secretary-general Kevin Chen (陳國儀), who was one of the witnesses, said after the hearing that the arbitration committee members had listened carefully to the testimonies and maintained a neutral attitude.
Chen said Chu’s closing statement, in which he told the court that he traveled to Switzerland to clear his name and uphold Taiwan’s honor in sporting circles, moved many in the courtroom.
Chu, who won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and a bronze the 2008 Beijing Olympics, filed the appeal in August last year after the commission said on Aug. 11 that he had been removed from the list of candidates for a seat on the commission, after he allegedly handed out lollipops to Olympic athletes before the vote.
Chu at the time denied giving out the candy and said so to the IOC Election Committee after it sent him a warning letter about the matter on July 26. He said he did not receive any further communication regarding the matter until the election results were announced and he was told his name had been struck from the candidate list.
When asked if Chu would be eligible for a seat on the commission if he obtained a favorable result from the court, the IOC declined to comment, saying that it was waiting to hear the verdict.
Japanese hammer thrower Koji Murofushi also filed an appeal after he was pulled from the election for allegedly using his iPad to explain the rules of the election to an athlete in the Olympic Village in London.
A media report said that both Chu and Murofushi had finished among the top four in the election.
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