Hamm asked to give up his Gold Medal

[mayfly]

I feel so sorry for this poor athlete.

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U.S. Furious at Proposal That Hamm Return His Gold


By Andrew Gray and Paul Eckert


ATHENS (Reuters) - U.S. Olympic chiefs reacted furiously Friday to a suggestion gold medallist Paul Hamm should give his medal to a South Korean rival under a plan floated by world gymnastics officials.


In one of the biggest controversies of the Athens Games, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has said Hamm placed first in the all-round event due to a judging error and bronze medallist Yang Tae-young should have been awarded gold.


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The FIG has suspended the three judges involved, saying they incorrectly docked a 10th of a point from Yang's parallel bars routine in the final Wednesday last week. But it has said it has no mechanism to overturn the final standings.


The FIG has now gone a step further and written to Hamm -- one of the highest-profile members of the U.S. Olympic team -- to suggest he could return his medal, according to a letter released by the U.S. Olympic committee Friday.


"The true winner of the all-round competition is Yang Tae-young," the letter said.


"If ... you would return your medal to the Korean if the FIG requested it, then such an action would be recognized as the ultimate demonstration of Fairplay by the whole world," said the letter signed by FIG president Bruno Grandi and dated August 26.


The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) said the letter was a "blatant and inappropriate" attempt by the FIG to shift responsibility for its mistake onto the shoulders of Hamm, 21.


"It's deplorable that they are deflecting their own incompetence and their problem to a young athlete who simply came here to compete in the Olympic Games," USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth told a news conference.


NO SECOND GOLD


USOC chiefs spoke to Hamm, who has returned to the United States, and his advisers Thursday night.


"During these conversations, the USOC expressed its unwavering support for Mr. Hamm and indicated it will aggressively resist any attempt by any party to lay claim to his gold medal," a USOC statement said.


The USOC also said it was no longer willing to consider allowing a second gold medal to be awarded to Yang, one suggestion floated as a way of defusing a row which has been front-page news for days across the United States.


Hamm, who staged an amazing comeback from 12th place in the final, has made clear he sees himself as the rightful gold medallist. He has also complained that U.S. sporting authorities have not given him enough support.


"We were at fault as an Olympic Committee for not more strongly, more directly stating our public support for Paul and his position and his welfare," USOC chief executive Jim Scherr told reporters Friday.


U.S. officials have pointed out the South Koreans failed to contest the judging error during the competition, which is the only way to change the marks, according to FIG rules.


The South Koreans said last week they would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but have yet to do so.


"This FIG letter to Hamm puts us in a much stronger position when we make an appeal to the CAS," South Korean delegation head Shim Bark-jae told Korean media.


"Regardless of the reply to the FIG letter, we will appeal to CAS as early as tomorrow and if possible resolve this matter before the end of the Games," he said.


The letter said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would appreciate Hamm handing back his medal. But the IOC said it had not been consulted and considered the matter closed.


"The results of the gymnastics have been validated and communicated by the FIG. There is no question that remains open on this issue," an IOC spokeswoman said.

[luvmetender]

How did three judges all make the same mistake? Has anyone heard anything about the details?

[mayfly]

I think it has to do with what they started him at. I am not sure I understand, but not all the athletes begin with the same number, to start taking deductions from. I am not sure if that number is decided in the preliminaries or what?

[mayor]

The judges also didn't take deductions when they SHOULD have. Hamm won fair and square. This is nothing more than sour grapes...

Mayor

[ShainaT]

This reminds me of those two skaters from Canada from the last Winter Olympics. Remember that? The scoring was done wrong, everyone complained so they awarded a SECOND set of gold medals to the Canadian skaters.

[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by mayor

The judges also didn't take deductions when they SHOULD have. Hamm won fair and square. This is nothing more than sour grapes...

Mayor

Yes Mayor I agree

Deep down both of the athletes have a good idea as to who performed better IMO.

Maybe they should explore the idea of having more judges-then dropping the high/low scores, and also have each judge in a sound proof chamber-well maybe that is going overboard.

[luvmetender]

I agree too. Just trying to figure out how THREE judges made the same mistake.

[Twinplets]

Originally Posted by mayor

The judges also didn't take deductions when they SHOULD have. Hamm won fair and square. This is nothing more than sour grapes...

I just saw this mentioned on the Olympics coverage tonight. So if they redo the scores to give him his one-tenth for the difficulty level, they should also deduct the two-tenths for the extra hold, and then Hamm won't look like the "wrong" winner anymore.

[mayfly]

I know!! why won't they do that? I saw this athlete,(can't remember his name) on another event, the high bar. He totally fell, he was terrible! Hamm went on to compete, and the crowds were booing over the score a Russian got. The poor guy, its not his fault.

[luvmetender]

I have a feeling that this is not the way the original olympics were supposed to go...

They need to do away with the video retakes.

[tlspiegel -Closed]

I recently answered a (very inexpensive)question at Google Answers re: this subject.

Question

Subject: Paul Hamm Gold Medal
Category: Sports and Recreation
Asked by: maluca-ga
List Price: $5.00 Posted: 24 Aug 2004 23:09 PDT
Expires: 23 Sep 2004 23:09 PDT
Question ID: 392236

Is it true the tape that would need to be reviewed to determine errors in scoring also show the Korean making a mistake which would have cost him 2/10 and the gold if used?


Hi maluca,

Thank you for your question.


From Sports illustrated at the Olympics - Updated: Monday August 23,
2004 10:13AM - Back off

Despite judging error, Hamm's gold medal shows no tarnish
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(The article explains the complex situation in detail.)


"Yes, the videotape of the parallel bars showed the judges erred by assigning a 9.9 start value. But it showed something else, too. In the
course of his routine, Yang had four holds on the bar, when the rules allow for a maximum of three. The deduction for that mistake?
Two-tenths of a point.

The judges missed it."


Best regards,
tlspiegel

[ShainaT]

However if we were to review EVERYTHING I bet we'd find a lot more errors. Maybe even some made by Hamm. That is why there is no instant replay in gymnastics. Maybe there should be. I don't know.

I like Hamm but I know if the situation were reversed...the S. Korean had the medal but Hamm's score was done incorrectly....we'd be screaming for the S. Korean to give it up.

[luvmetender]

Thanks TobyLee, I had heard something about that but didn't know the details.

[cata5]

Originally Posted by ShainaT

However if we were to review EVERYTHING I bet we'd find a lot more errors. Maybe even some made by Hamm. That is why there is no instant replay in gymnastics. Maybe there should be. I don't know.

I like Hamm but I know if the situation were reversed...the S. Korean had the medal but Hamm's score was done incorrectly....we'd be screaming for the S. Korean to give it up.

I agree!

[mayfly]

It actually did happen to one of our runners this year.