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1 month ago
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Romania's Prime Minister has opened up on his plans to boycott the Paris Olympics' closing ceremony amid fury over the 'scandalous situation' which denied one of their female gymnasts a bronze medal this week.
Ana Barbosu had already begun celebrating her bronze for the floor event Monday when USA coaches entered an appeal to judges over American gymnast Jordan Chiles' score.
The inquiry resulted in a 0.1 boost for Chiles, enough to overtake both the Romanian and her compatriot Sabrina Voinea for the last spot on the Olympic podium, leaving both women in tears for contrasting reasons.
Following Barbosu's cruel blow, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee is requesting a review of the decision to bump Chiles up to third place in Paris.
And Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is so enraged, in fact, that he will no longer be attending the closing ceremony for the Olympics on August 11.
Romania's Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is set to boycott the Paris Olympics' closing ceremony amid fury over USA's Jordan Chiles denying one of their gymnasts a bronze medal
'I decided not to attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, following the scandalous situation in the gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonorable manner,' Ciolacu said in a post on Facebook.
'To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal... is totally unacceptable!'
Ciolacu promised Romania would still honor Barbosu and fifth-place finisher Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, also Romanian, as Olympic medalists, 'including in terms of the prizes.'
'You have with you an entire nation for which your work and tears are more precious than any medal, no matter what precious metal they are from,' he added.
Barbosu was standing on the floor holding a Romanian flag when she looked up and saw the scoring change on the video board. She dropped the flag in shock, brought her hands to her face and walked off in tears.
Inquiries are a standard part of gymnastics competitions, with athletes or coaches asking judges to review a routine to ensure elements are rated properly. Scores can be adjusted up or down based on an inquiry.
The revised scoring of Chiles' performance also nudged Maneca-Voinea down to fifth place.
Chiles was bumped up to the medal positions after an appeal from USA coaches saw her score receive a 0.1 boost
It meant Romania's Ana Barbosu was cruelly denied a bronze medal right at the death
Barbosu was left devastated after missing out on bronze, and Cialocu no longer plans to attend the closing ceremony amid his outrage
Romania was a longtime superpower in gymnastics, but this was the program's return to the Olympics after a 12-year break. The country's gymnastics great Nadia Comaneci also lashed out after the event, writing on X: 'I can't believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this.'
Ciolacu said that viewers worldwide were 'literally shocked by this terrible scene' and claimed that it highlights 'somewhere in the system of organizing this competition, something is wrong.'
Meanwhile, Mihai Covaliu - the president of the Romanian Olympic Committee - officially sent a letter of protest to the International Gymnastics Federation regarding Voinea's score in the aftermath of the result.
'With respect to Olympic values, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee... respectfully requests you to order the re-analysis [of] the decision making factors of the case of the Romanian athlete Sabrina Maneca Voinea regarding the score given to the execution of the exercise in the floor final,' the letter began.
'We make this request based on the care that that International Olympic Committee and the entire world sports movement gives to the athlete.
Romania has lodged a protest of the score of gymnast Sabrina Maneca Voinea, who dropped down to fifth after Chiles' rescore
'The way of assessing the score awarded and the refusal to fully present the reasons/evidence for the rejection of the appeal submitted within the deadline provided by the regulation brings serious damage both to the image of international gymnastics but especially affects the athlete, endangering [her] mental health.
'The media coverage of the case of the Romanian sportswoman at the international level, her public declaration to give up practicing this sport as a result of today's decision morally obliges the decision-makers to reanalyze, substantiate and communicate the final decision.
'The balanced and objective policy that [the International Gymnastics Federation] promotes gives us confidence in the fair resolution of the presented case.'
English (US)