CAS upholds disqualification in IOC athletes’ vote

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The highest court in sports has upheld the decision to bar a Taiwanese taekwondo fighter from election to the IOC athletes’ commission for breaking campaign rules.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport says it rejected the appeal by Chu Mu-yen against the decision by the IOC executive board to disqualify him.

CAS says its three-man panel found Chu guilty of several violations of the election rules by using “unauthorized promotional materials and distributing gifts to voters.”

CAS say the violations “gave him an advantage” over other candidates but adds Chu’s behavior was “due more to excessive zeal than a desire to cheat.”

CAS has yet to rule on a similar appeal by Japanese hammer thrower Koji Murofoshi.

Both men finished in the top four in voting during the London Olympics but were barred from accepting their eight-year posts.