Name James Hewish | Role Referee | |
James Hewish is a controversial Australian short track speed skating referee who works for ISU. He participated in the 2002 Salt Lake City and 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics as the chief referee in the short track speed skating events.
Controversies
In the 1500 m Short Track Speed Skating event of the 2002 Winter Olympics, James Hewish gave gold to Apolo Anton Ohno even though the South Korean skater Kim Dong-Sung was first to cross the finish line. James Hewish disqualified Kim Dong-Sung for blocking Ohno and violating the rule of cross-tracking.
James again disqualified the South Korean team, who finished first, in the Women's 3000m Relay final at the 2010 Winter Olympics for blocking a Chinese skater. James subsequently received abusing and threatening emails including personal death threats from angry South Korean fans. A bomb threat was also made by a disgruntled fan against the Australian Embassy in Seoul, however it was later determined to be a hoax. James was provided police protection as a result of the threats.
He was then suspended for 2 years for giving incorrect decisions.