Hot: Romanian Prime Minister boycotts 2024 Olympics closing ceremony as athletes 'lose' medals
Báo Thanh niên•20/11/2024
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on August 6 that he would boycott the 2024 Olympic closing ceremony over the decision to count points in the women's gymnastics final.
Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu initially won bronze in the floor exercise on August 5 and began celebrating on the mat. But then the U.S. coaches unexpectedly complained to the judges about the score of their team’s Jordan Chiles. A subsequent review by the judges resulted in a 0.1-point increase, allowing Chiles to edge out Barbosu for bronze.
Ana Barbosu lost her bronze medal at the last minute.
REUTERS
Barbosu held a Romanian flag in celebration as she looked up at the scoreboard. But when she saw the score change and dropped the bronze medal, the 18-year-old collapsed, dropped the flag, covered her face and walked away in tears. "I have decided not to attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics (August 11), after the scandalous situation in gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in a completely unfair way. Revocation of medals won based on an appeal... is completely unacceptable!", Romania's Prime Minister posted a strong message on his personal Facebook account. Mr Ciolacu added that Romania would still honor Barbosu and teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (who also complained about being unfairly penalized) as Olympic medalists. Both will be awarded medal bonuses. "You carry with you an entire nation whose labors and tears are more precious than any medal, no matter what precious metal they are made of," Mr. Ciolacu wrote.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu will boycott the 2024 Olympics closing ceremony
AFP
Prime Minister Ciolacu later stressed that viewers around the world were shocked by the scene and that "something is wrong in the system that organizes this competition". President of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation Carmencita Constantin said she would file a complaint with the International Court of Arbitration for Sport after feeling that both athletes had been unfairly treated. Meanwhile, Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci, who has won five Olympic gold medals, also condemned the score-changing in a social media post. This year's Olympics marks Romania's return to gymnastics since 2012. The country has a proud history of gymnastics, with 12 medals, including gold at the 1984, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. Romania has yet to win a gymnastics medal in Paris.
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