Different story, same predicament for Olympic sprinter Martina

Churandy Martina (red) was stripped of his 200m silver medal for stepping on the line. Shawn Crawford (far right) was named second place, but has since given the medal to Martina. Adam Pretty/Getty Images Tim Layden's Mailbag Submit a question or comment for Tim Layden. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Tim Layden on Twitter

Christmas came early for Olympic sprinter Churandy Martina. (I am typing these words not because I want this piece to be the first hit when somebody Googles "Christmas Churandy Martina,'' -- although I think I'm in the hunt -- but also because it's true, in a weird sort of way. How often is it that an athlete is presented an Olympic gold medal by a hotel front desk manager? Follow along).

On the night of Thursday, Aug. 20, in Beijing, two very distinct stories unfolded in the running of the Olympic 200 meters. In the first, Usain Bolt of Jamaica followed up his early-celebration world record of 9.69 seconds in the 100 meters by running 19.30 seconds to break Michael Johnson's unbreakable 12-year-world record of 19.32. It was beyond sick. Far behind Bolt, nearly out of the television image, Martina, a 24-year-old from the Netherlands Antilles, finished second. I am at this moment looking at a nearly head-on photo in Track and Field News; as Bolt exults with his arms outstretched, Martina is just hitting the line and pumping both fists.

Story No. 2: As Bolt, Martina and bronze medalist Wallace Spearmon of the U.S. were doing a wild, dancing victory lap, the stadium scoreboard took down Spearmon's name and replaced it with defending gold medalist Shawn Crawford, also of the U.S. (This created a thunderously awkward moment -- several moments, actually -- where Spearmon continued to celebrate while many of those in the stadium were aware that he was now celebrating last place).

It turns out that Spearmon had been disqualified from the race for stepping on the white lane divider to his inside, thus shortening the distance in the half-lap race. Moments after the DQ, Crawford met with reporters and was clearly uncomfortable with winning another Olympic medal through Spearmon's error. "Man, this isn't the way I wanted to go home with a medal," said Crawford. "I would love to have crossed the line in the third-place position, because I looked at the replay and I don't feel like it gave [Spearmon] an advantage. I feel like he was deserving of the third-place position."

The situation quickly got even more bizarre. U.S. coaches protested Spearmon's DQ, and while watching tape of the race, noticed that Martina also had stepped out of his lane. The U.S. coaches protested and Martina was also disqualified, elevating U.S. sprinter Walter Dix to third. Long after Bolt's transcendent race, the sprinters who crossed the line fourth and fifth were awarded the silver and bronze medals.

Jump ahead eight days to the evening of Aug. 28, at the headquarters hotel for the renowned Weltklasse meet in Zurich. In a story first reported by Dave Ungrady of Universalsports.com and confirmed to SI.com last week by Martina in a telephone interview from his home in Curacao, Martina was summoned to the front desk to pick up a package.

"I go to the front desk,'' says Martina, `"and they give me a Nike bag, just like the one Nike gave [Nike-sponsored athletes] in Beijing. In Beijing, our uniforms and spikes and some other things were in the bag. But this one, I looked inside, there is the silver medal from the 200 meters, with a note from Shawn Crawford.''

Martina says he went back to his room and called Crawford. "He said didn't feel like he deserved it,'' says Martina. "He said, 'It's yours. I don't want it.''