Bronze is wrested away from wrestler

BEIJING - A Swedish wrestler was disqualified and stripped of his bronze medal yesterday for dropping the prize in protest after a disputed loss.

Ara Abrahamian was punished by the International Olympic Committee for inappropriate behavior during the medal ceremony.

Abrahamian became incensed when a disputed penalty call decided his semifinal match against Italian Andrea Minguzzi, who went on to win the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 84-kilogram division Thursday.

During the medal ceremony, the Armenian-born Abrahamian took the bronze from around his neck and angrily dropped it on the mat as he walked away. He did not take part in the rest of the medal ceremony.

The IOC executive board ruled Abrahamian's actions amounted to a political demonstration and a mark of disrespect to his fellow athletes.

"It was felt that his behavior on the medal podium and during the medal ceremony was not appropriate," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. "His behavior was not in the Olympic spirit of respect for his fellow athletes. Whatever grievances you may have, this was not the way to go about it."

The IOC said no athlete will receive Abrahamian's medal because his disqualification was not connected to the competition itself, meaning there will be only one bronze medalist, Nazmi Avluca of Turkey. Normally, there are two at each weight class.

The 28-year-old Abrahamian had to be restrained from going after officials following his loss to Minguzzi. He stormed away from the area where interviews are conducted and slammed a door to the dressing rooms so hard it shook a wall. He weighed whether to skip the bronze medal match, only to have friends talk him into competing.

The IOC said Abrahamian violated two rules of the Olympic charter, one that bans any sort of demonstrations and another that demands respect for all Olympic athletes.

"The awards ceremony is a highly symbolic ritual, acknowledged as such by all athletes and other participants," the IOC said. "Any disruption by any athlete, in particular a medalist, is in itself an insult to the other athletes and to the Olympic movement. It is also contrary to the spirit of fair play." (AP)