Romania PM to shun Olympic ceremony over gymnastics ‘injustice’

WOMEN’S 10m platform gold medallist Hongchan Quan of China celebrates on the podium at the Aquatics Centre on Tuesday.—Reuters

BUCHAREST: Romania’s prime minister on Tuesday vowed to boycott the Olympic closing ceremony after what he described as “flagrant injustice” to two of the country’s gymnasts.

Marcel Ciolacu lashed out at what he said was a “scandalous situation” surrounding Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea, who both finished outside the medals in the women’s floor exercise on Monday.

Barbosu was initially adjudged to have won bronze and had already unfurled a Romanian flag in celebration.

But a dramatic last-ditch appeal on behalf of American gymnast Jordan Chiles increased her difficulty score and pushed Barbosu into fourth and Voinea into fifth.

The president of the country’s gymnastics federation Carmencita Constantin told AFP she would file two complaints to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Both Romanian gymnasts left the competition in tears.

Voinea, 17, who filed an unsuccessful appeal of her own, complained she had been unfairly penalised.

Appeals are regularly lodged during a gymnastics competition. Some are rejected, others upheld, resulting in a change of score.

Fellow Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci jumped into the controversy, saying in a series of messages on X that the gymnasts’ mental health had not been protected.

Comaneci urged a review of Voinea’s routine, believing the athlete didn’t step outside the floor surface.

The Romanian gymnastics team, which qualified for the first time in 12 years, left Paris without a medal. They came seventh in the team competition.

Prime Minister Ciolacu said both gymnasts would receive prize money as if they had won an Olympic medal.

For bronze, the prize is 60,000 euros ($65,000).

“I have decided not to attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics after the scandalous situation in gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonourable way,” he wrote on Facebook.

Romania also sent a letter of protest to the International Gymnastics Federation. Voinea has now quit gymnastics, her mother and coach Camelia wrote on Facebook.

Medals table

(Tabulated under country gold, silver, bronze and total)

China 22 20 14 56

USA 21 30 28 79

Australia 14 12 9 35

France 13 16 19 48

Great Britain 12 14 18 44

South Korea 11 8 7 26

Japan 11 6 11 28

Italy 9 10 6 25

Netherlands 8 5 6 19

Germany 8 5 4 17