The gymnastics world is home to a new controversy after Olympic judges accepted an appeal by Team USA to review the difficulty score assigned to athlete Jordan Chiles during the sport’s floor exercise finals this Monday (August 5).
The decision meant that Ana Barbosu of Romania had her bronze medal figuratively “snatched” from her hands, and it was awarded instead to the US athlete, leaving Ana in tears and dropping her flag on the ground.
Highlights
- Judges accepted Team USA's appeal, awarding Jordan Chiles the bronze over Romania’s Ana Barbosu.
- Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea both scored 13.700, but Voinea had 100 points deducted for a disputed boundary fault.
- Sabrina Voinea unofficially announced her retirement due to the decision, with Romanian officials contacting the International Gymnastics Federation.
The original scores were close, with Barbosu’s 13.700 granting her a small lead ahead of Chiles’ 13.666. After the corrective measure was taken, Chiles gained another 100 points, securing her the bronze medal.
Far from remaining still, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee quickly moved to submit a request for a review of the decision-making factors behind the correction while also arguing that another one of their athletes got unjustly penalized during the competition.
Romania moves to appeal controversial Olympic judges’ decision to award Team USA’s Jordan Chiles the bronze medal ahead of two of their athletes
Image credits: jordanchiles
The Romanian team had both Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea score 13.700 points at the end of the event. The latter, however, had 100 points deducted from her performance seemingly due to her stepping out of bounds during her routine.
A layman’s review of the footage doesn’t seem to indicate that the gymnast incurred any fault, and more expert voices, such as Romanian legend Nadia Comaneci, have also questioned the measures taken by the Olympic judges, urging them to take a second look.
Image credits: jordanchiles
“This floor routine needs a review. We need to protect athletes' mental health by being there for them,” wrote the gymnastics veteran on X.
“I don't see the heel touching down.. do you?” she continued, and she shared a video of Voinea’s routine, where she was seen coming close to the bounds but not actually touching them.
If the Romanian team’s appeal is accepted and the score reverted, Voinea's original 13.800 points would put her comfortably ahead of Team USA’s Chiles, awarding her the bronze medal.
The affected gymnast has unofficially announced her retirement following the decision, with Romanian officials reaching out to the International Gymnastics Federation as a result
Image credits: ana_barbosu
“Sabrina did not leave the mat for any acrobatic line, she deserves a medal! We will not dedicate ourselves to gymnastics anymore, no one is fighting for our rights!” the post read.
“We love everyone who has supported us to this point but this is more than we can take!”
Image credits: sabrina_voinea_alexia
Image credits: sabrina_voinea_alexia
Following the controversial results, Mihai Covaliu, president of the Romanian Olympic Committee, wrote a letter of protest to the International Gymnastics Federation.
“With respect to Olympic values, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee respectfully requests you to re-analyze 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.
Image credits: sabrina_voinea_alexia
“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.”
“[Voinea’s] 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 letter concluded.