MOUNT ALLAN, Alberta -- Fourteen giant slalomers, including the entire Canadian and Taiwanese teams, were disqualified from Thursday's race because their ski suits were not approved, officials said.
The skiers were disqualified after making the first run and were not allowed to participate in the second.
Of those disqualified, the top finisher in the first run was Jim Read of Canada in 33rd place.
Ironically, the last time such a disqualification was made by the International Ski Federation (FIS) was eight years ago when Canadian Ken Read, the older brother of Jim Read, was penalized because his suit was not officially approved.
Four Canadians and four Taiwanese were not allowed to make the second run, as well as three skiers each from Bolivia and Morocco. FIS officials originally said 19 skiers had been disqualified but later changed the number to 14.
'The rule is clear. No competitor is allowed to start without a plomb (official FIS seal), said FIS secretary-general Gianfranco Kasper.
FIS spokesman Christian Knauth said competitors are required to have their suits tested and approved by FIS officials before the race. Once approved, the suits are given an FIS seal.
Knauth said the disqualifications would not affect any of the results from alpine events held earlier this week or last week and that the problem had not occurred before in the Olympics.
Canadian Coach Glenn Wurtele said he accepted full responsibility for his team's disqualification.
'In retrospect it's a pretty big oversight, but my feeling is that it (disqualification) is an extremely harsh judgment,' he said. 'It was done merely to uphold a rule. It is taking rules to the nth degree.'
