The Women’s Floor Exercise final concluded on Monday. All of the exceptional female athletes gave it their all on the field. Sadly, there could only be a certain amount of medals made. The top three gymnasts ultimately took home the titles. Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, and Rebeca Andrade were those people.
However, there is a huge debate over where the bronze medal belongs. This controversy took place mainly between the American and Romanian teams.
The bronze medal originally belonged to Romanian player Ana Barbosu. She was about to hold up the Romanian flag in joyful celebration when in the next moment she heard the news that the American player had succeeded in his appeal. After hearing the news, the flag in her hand immediately slipped from her hand to the ground and she broke down and cried. Finally, she walked out of the field accompanied by her coach, lost in thought.
Controversy Surrounds Ana Barbosu’s Olympic Medal Loss
This young Romanian player participated in the Olympics for the first time this year and the women’s free weights may be her best result of the competition. She didn’t place high in any of the other events. She could have picked up a medal in her first Olympics, but her Olympic journey came to an end due to the manipulation of the US team.
The news that Ana Barbosu had lost her medal after a successful appeal by the US team shocked many. Even some of the local American crowd didn’t quite understand. Not to mention those in Romania.
The Romanian crowd was so outraged that they claimed that the US team were thieves who stole someone else’s medal. The incident even alarmed the Romanian Prime Minister. He angrily took to Facebook to say that the Romanian athletes were definitely treated dishonourably and that this was totally unacceptable and he also said he was adamant that he would not attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
Debate Over Appeal Validity and Historical Context
However, amid the criticism, some believe that the U.S. team’s successful appeal is somewhat justified. Some netizens felt that it made sense for a member of the U.S. team to complain about the difficulty score, as it was perfectly in line with the Olympic rules regarding complaints about gymnastics competitions. In addition they think that Jordan Chiles’ movements do meet the standard for a difficulty score appeal.
Miraculously we will find that the US team always seems to succeed in their complaints. Like at the 2012 London Olympics balance beam final, where Ponor, also a Romanian team heat, won bronze, but after the U.S. team appealed, Romania lost the medal as well. History is always strikingly similar, and makes us wonder why Team USA always appeals successfully.
In any case, I hope that the Romanian play will not be too sad about the loss of this medal, after all, there must be more medals waiting for her in the future.
