Romanian PM won’t attend Olympics closing ceremony in protest over judges’ treatment of gymnasts

Paris
CNN
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Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has refused to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in protest over the women’s floor exercise final earlier this week where two Romanian athletes failed to win medals.

Ana Barboso and Sabrina Manika-Voinja were subjected to “absolutely dishonest treatment” by the judges in the floor exercise finals, Siolaco said in a statement on Wednesday. Barboso finished fourth in a stunning turn of events that included a routine by American gymnast Jordan Chiles, and Manika-Voinja was given a one-point penalty for leaving the floor exercise mat, even though she did not appear to have actually gone out of bounds.

It was Barboso’s experience that particularly bothered Ciolacu. The Romanian gymnast appeared to have clinched the bronze medal after Chiles finished her final all-around of the day.

The American gave it her all and didn’t miss a step, but her score came in at 13.666, which was enough for fifth place. Her coaches appealed the judges’ difficulty rating and she won. Another 0.1 points were added to her score, giving her a score of 13.766, which was enough for the bronze medal.

This change in result was enough to push Barboso off the podium and into fourth place, a result as disappointing for the Romanian as it was exciting for the Chilean.

This move is unacceptable, Shiolako said.

“I have decided not to participate in the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, after the scandalous situation in gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonest manner. Taking away a medal they earned with honest work on the basis of an appeal, which neither the coaches nor the senior technicians understand, is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

“It is unacceptable that a girl who won her medal with honor should be deprived of the result of her four years of work in a competition of this magnitude, which promotes the values ​​of respect, understanding and excellence! I could not look at her tears and calmly accept that such a thing is completely normal!”

“The fact that hundreds of millions of viewers from all over the world were, like us Romanians, literally shocked by this terrible spectacle, shows that somewhere, in the system of organizing this competition, something is wrong,” he added.

Chiles later said that her post-competition exhaustion hit her when she saw her score appear on the big screen at Bercy Arena. She didn’t even realize that her coaches were questioning the result.

“I was so tired, I didn’t even realize my coaches were asking about it, and I said, ‘Well, let’s see, it could be different,'” she told reporters.

“So, when it happened, I was very proud of myself. You know, it’s the first time I’ve ever done that. [individual] “The event finals and getting my first medal in the event, it was crazy. So I was very proud of myself.”

The situation in Manica Voinja was less dramatic, but was also criticised by Romanians.

The gymnast was penalized for leaving the mat during floor exercises, but the video did not show her actually going out of bounds.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation has submitted a request to the International Gymnastics Federation for a detailed analysis of why the sanction was imposed.

“Sabrina was fined 10 points for her virtual exit from the ring, which can be proven to be an error of judgement,” the Romanian body said in a statement.

“At the same time, the Federal Republic of Germany, in the spirit of transparency, has requested that the detailed analysis and justification of the participation of the 9 gymnasts in the floor final be published, in order to provide an official response to the gymnasts, the Romanian gymnastics community, the government and governmental authorities, and the national and international media.”