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Marcel Ciolacu, the Romanian Prime Minister, said he would not be attending the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 after two of the country's gymnasts - Sabrina Voinea and Ana Barbosu were denied medals. Barbosu’s name flashed on the screen as she rejoiced in her maiden Olympic medal triumph. She was joint third with USA’s Jordan Chiles but was above her opponent due to a superior execution score.
However, soon after, the scoreboard flashed the American’s name in the bronze medal position. Barbosu broke down into tears after being stripped off a podium finish.
Voinea was also hard done after the judges turned down her appeal. Had the judges accepted her appeal, she would have finished with a bronze medal.
The Romanian PM lashed out at the “dishonorable” treatment meted out to their gymnasts in the quadrennial event. He said that it was unacceptable for the judges to not take into consideration Voinea’s appeal.
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“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 dishonourable manner,” Ciolacu wrote in a post on Facebook.
Nadia Comaneci furious after decisions against Sabrina Voinea and Ana Barbosu
Legendary Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci also slammed the judges after Voinea and Barbosu could not find themselves on the podium. She talked about contacting Morinari Watanabe, the president of the International Gymnastics Federation, to bring justice to the Romanian gymnasts.
“I sent the videos to (Watanabe) because it’s important for the girl to know what she did wrong and what she did not do wrong,” Comaneci wrote on Instagram.
In 2022, the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) gave bronze medals to Fanny Smith from Switzerland and Germany's Daniela Maier after a dispute. If a similar decision event transpires this time and Voinea’s score is changed, the Romanian gymnast would get a bronze.
