Gymnastics The Joke

[Fattwins 0]

I find this article a joke for Gymnastics.

This American kid is being trated unfairly by the Gymnastics (FIG). Its their mess and they should be fixing it. Give out 2 golds and be done with it. Dont destory the kids dream he has done nothing wrong.

 

 

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Gymnastics officials asked Paul Hamm to give up his gold medal as the ultimate show of sportsmanship, but the U.S. Olympic Committee told them to take responsibility for their own mistakes.

 

In a dispute over scores that has turned into a political squabble, the head of the International Gymnastics Federation suggested in a letter to Hamm that giving the all-around gold medal to South Korea's Yang Tae-young "would be recognized as the ultimate demonstration of fair play by the whole world."

 

FIG president Bruno Grandi tried to send the letter Thursday night to Hamm through the USOC, but the USOC refused to deliver it.

 

In a letter back to Grandi, USOC secretary general Jim Scherr called the request "a blatant and inappropriate attempt on the part of (FIG) to once again shift responsibility for its own mistakes and instead pressure Mr. Hamm into resolving what has become an embarrassing situation for your federation."

 

Yang, the bronze medalist, was wrongly docked a tenth of a point on his parallel bars routine. If he had received the proper score, he would have won gold and Hamm would have won silver. Three judges were suspended, and FIG said the results would stand.

 

Through his agent, Hamm declined comment, but he has said in the past that he has no intentions of giving up his medal unless ordered to do so by FIG. Grandi said Friday he believed the issue was closed until he learned of that comment by Hamm.

 

Although Grandi's letter says "the true winner of the all-around competition is Yang Tae-young" the FIG president insisted he's not pressuring Hamm.

 

"There is no doubt he has won the medal," Grandi said. "He deserves the medal and the ranking is clear. ... I respect totally Paul Hamm and all the decisions he makes. If he says give back the medal, I respect it. Don't give back the medal, I respect the decision. He is not responsible for anything."

 

The USOC had a much different interpretation of the letter.

 

"I don't know of any comparison in any sport anywhere where you crown an athlete, crown a team and then say, 'Oh, that was a mistake. Would you fix this for us?"' USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth said.

 

Ueberroth said the USOC considers the case closed, based on the FIG ruling -- that the scores cannot be changed -- and from a statement from International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, who said the IOC would stick with the results turned in by the federation and wouldn't step in unless there were clear signs of impropriety.

[damian 0]

I would not want, value or respect a gold medal given to me only becasue the judges made a mistake.

 

If I were the American then I would give the gold medal to the Korean both for his benefit and mine, but not because I wanted to be seen as a sportsman. That would just be a possible nice by-product of my decision.

[Fattwins 0]

He has told the FIG if they ask for it back to resuffle the staning he will give it back. The FIG needs to start to be the FIG and either drop the case or do something. dont put it on the kid. It truely is not his fault.

[Ocean11 0]

Why not simply hold the event again, if it's at all important. It's not as if the money isn't available to do it. Let Hamm keep his worthless medal if it means that much to him, and give Yang a sporting chance to prove himself again.

 

I thought sport was supposed to transcend things like raw ego, organizational and national boundaries and so on. Jeez. Maybe the Olympic organizers should concentrate less on fancy displays and get the judgement apparatus right.

[Fattwins 0]

My point is that this kid is being used as a scapegoat when really he has done nothing wrong.

[IceEiji 0]

""Yang, the bronze medalist, was wrongly docked a tenth of a point on his parallel bars routine."

 

How come this happened in the first place?

[montoya 0]

Hmm, the Koreans should stop whining and just take it as bad luck. They failed to challenge the error during the competition, and the error was discovered after reviewing videotape, which isn't allowed in international gymnastics. They knew the rules, so what is the problem?

 

Even you make an exception and allow reviewing the tape afterwards, if you catch other unnoticed errors in their routines, what do you do then?

[Ocean11 0]

> when really he has done nothing wrong

 

Yes he has. He's being one prick among many.

 

What people have lost sight of, totally, is that the medal itself doesn't represent "sporting glory", and that there are several equally good paths to "sporting glory".

 

You can take the bureaucratic view that "he has done nothing wrong", but going strictly by the book and damn your dignity has nothing to do with being a sportsman, and everything to do with being a prick.

 

Being chagrined by the whole messy episode, and showing it to a reasonable degree is fine. But this...? Peh!

[Goemon 0]

If they really want to review the video tape and check Yang's score, are they also going to deduct points for mistakes he made (which were also not counted by the judges)?