The prime minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, said he plans to boycott the Olympic closing ceremony after two gymnasts from his country controversially missed medals in the women’s floor exercise final.
“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 on Facebook. “To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal, which neither the coaches nor the top technicians understand, is totally unacceptable!"
American Jordan Chiles won the bronze after she appealed her score. Before her inquiry, two Romanians, Sabrina Voinea and Ana Bărbosu, had tied for third, but Bărbosu retained the bronze medal position because of her superior execution score.
Bărbosu initially thought she had earned her first Olympic medal and was jubilantly waving the Romanian flag when the scoreboard changed. When she saw her name fall out of medal position, she abruptly dropped the flag and burst into tears.
Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comăneci took to social media Tuesday to claim that Voinea was incorrectly penalized for going out of bounds in her routine.
Had she had received the deduction, Voinea would have scored higher than Bărbosu and Chiles, even after Chiles' score was increased. Like Chiles, Voinea appealed within the allotted time period, but the judges rejected her inquiry.
Comăneci posted a clip of the NBC prime-time broadcast of the final and asserted that Voinea's heel did not touch the mat outside the boundaries.
Euronews Romania reported that Comăneci, who was the first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 score, sent "several requests" to Morinari Watanabe, the president of the International Gymnastics Federation, on Tuesday calling for Voinea's floor exercise to be re-analyzed.
"I sent the videos to him because it's important for the girl to know what she did wrong and what she didn't do wrong," Comăneci said. "He told me that, for him, the athletes are his sons and daughters and he wants to take care of them."
The federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Comăneci told Digisport that she believes the judges who rejected Voinea's inquiry were reviewing aerial video of the routine and could not see that her heel did not touch the floor.
The president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee also sent a "letter of protest" urging the gymnastics federation to re-analyze the exercise.
If officials opt to adjust the score in Voinea's favor, a precedent set by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after a similar situation in 2022 suggests Voinea could be awarded a bronze while Chiles would keep her medal, as well.
Retroactively stripping athletes of Olympic medals is typically reserved for situations involving doping or cheating allegations.
In the 2022 incident, Switzerland’s Fanny Smith and Germany’s Daniela Maier were both awarded Olympic bronze medals in the women’s ski cross at the Beijing Winter Games after a lengthy review period and subsequent dispute.
Appealing scores during competition at the Olympic level is risky because it can sometimes result in even lower scores than before. The gymnast’s federation is required to pay a fee and file the inquiry to the judges promptly. If the appeal is approved, the fee is reimbursed.
Chiles said after Monday's final that she was unaware her coach, Cecile Landi, had submitted an inquiry on her behalf but that she was overjoyed when it was accepted.
“I have no words, but I’m so proud of myself," Chiles said after the meet. "I'm proud of each and every one of these girls, and especially myself."
Chiles won a gold medal with her U.S. teammates in Tuesday's team final, as well as a team silver in Tokyo. The individual floor bronze completes her Olympic set.
