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Former American track and field star Maurice Greene spoke on Monday when California high school officials disqualified a burgeoning sprint star for performing his famous celebration.
North Salinas High School sophomore Clara Adams finished second in 400 preliminaries and quickly got off the starting line in 400 finals and ran to first place, or she thought.
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Maurice Greene celebrated his teammates spewing his feet with a fire extinguisher after winning the men’s 100m race at 9.86 during the 2004 Home Depot Invitational. (Getty Image)
Adams celebrates with his father after winning the game. According to the Monterey Herald, she took out a fire extinguisher from her father and sprayed her shoes with it, suggesting that she was on fire.
Green held a fire extinguisher celebration after winning the 100m sprint in the 2004 Home Depot Invitational. “When I heard it, because it happened, then people started calling me ‘This girl who just ran 400 celebrations’ I was like, right? What?” he told KSBW-TV on Monday.
“If it stays away from everyone and not interferes with anyone, I would say restore her.”
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North Salinas High School sophomore Clara Adams initially won the game but was disqualified for the celebration. (Lucas Boland-Imagn image)
Adams’ father David said the celebration was canceled any of her opponents.
“I have videos,” he told the Monterrey Herald. “She was on the other side of the wall. I told her to walk out of the track. She didn’t spray shoes on the track. We protested the decision. I think it was racially motivated.”
He further explained to KSBW-TV.
“When she blew up the fire extinguisher, the opponent went away,” he told the station. “That was our celebration moment, and the CIF officials celebrated them. The crowd went crazy, they liked it, the CIF stalls went crazy, they liked it. But a few guys in those jackets offended it, disliked it, and made decisions based on emotions.”
The California Interschool Federation (CIF) upheld the decision to disqualify Clara Adams from the 400. Then, she learned that she could not compete in 200 games, either.
Fox News Digital and CIF reached out to comment.
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After the incident, a petition was filed to restore Adams’ victory. As of Tuesday morning, it had received more than 1,700 signatures.
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