While Matthew Pinsent, Kelly Holmes and the rest used their athletic endeavour to bring home Olympic medals, the legal skills of the in-house lawyer for the British Olympic Association (BOA) were needed to ensure a gold, silver and bronze for the GB team.

Sara Friend, a solicitor, led the successful joint appeal to the ad hoc Court of Arbitration for Sport from the British, US and French teams against the result of the three-day eventing.


It followed the decision by officials to rescind a decision to penalise a German rider for a technical infringement. The German rider and team won as a result, meaning that Britain’s Leslie Law was denied an individual gold and Pippa Funnell a bronze, and the British eventing team a silver.


Ms Friend worked with a US lawyer to put the appeal together, and speaking to the Gazette from Athens, explained how quickly the appeal proceeded. The decision to appeal was taken at 10am the following morning and she filed papers with the court 24 hours later. The hearing was at 4pm the same day, with the decision handed down at 3pm the day after that.


Ms Friend, who qualified and practised as a litigator at the City office of Baker & McKenzie for four years before joining the BOA in 2001, presented the case. The court judges interrupted and asked questions regularly and she said it was a ‘daunting’ experience.


There was also speculation that Team GB would appeal the 200 metres backstroke result, after the US winner was disqualified and then reinstated, denying British swimmer James Goddard a bronze medal.


However, Ms Friend said she ‘spent two days trying to get to the bottom of the case but at the end the facts weren’t clear enough’.


Several teams threatened to go to the court after contentious decisions, but few actually saw it through. ‘Sometimes you just have to live with it,’ said Ms Friend. ‘Only if there’s a clear breach of rules or procedure will you take it on.’


Ms Friend returns this week after almost six weeks in Athens in what she described as a ‘contingency role’ in case of legal issues arising.


Her responsibilities ranged from last-minute selection issues to ambush marketing problems. In addition, she was working on the London 2012 bid. Ms Friend was also responsible for co-ordinating visits to the British team by VIPs.


Ms Friend said she found time to take in some events, witnessing Holmes win the 800 metres. It was all a satisfying experience. ‘It’s what I’ve worked towards for the past four years.’