The Romanian women’s artistic gymnastics team experienced a series of low points during the floor exercise final of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which set off the events that Jordanian chilis‘ Bronze medal in danger.
During the competition on Monday, August 5, Team Romania submitted a score query regarding Sabrina Maneca-Voineaperformance. Any team can ask the jury to review an athlete’s score, which essentially means re-evaluating the difficulty level of a particular movement. Maneca-Voinea’s appeal was rejected. After the score remained unchanged, Simone BilesManeca-Voineas teammate Ana Barbosu and Chiles performed their own routines. All three women placed better than Maneca-Voinea.
Rebecca AndradeBiles, 27, and Barbosu, 18, took gold, silver and bronze. While Barbosu celebrated on the mat with her country’s flag, it was announced that Team USA had launched an investigation into the difficulty of one of Chile’s jumps. The judges ultimately followed the investigation and moved her up from fifth to third place.
Barbosu was heartbroken that she had narrowly missed the chance for a medal.
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“Thank you to everyone who encouraged me before, during and after the competition,” Barbosu wrote on Instagram Story on Monday before reposting a statement from the retired gymnast. Sandra Izbasa-Bianca“‘I hear the words that the coaches repeated to us almost every day in the training room more vividly than ever. ‘You Romanians have to be more than perfect to leave no room for interpretation!’ And here it proves once again! Girls, head up and back straight! Keep believing in your dreams! Go Romania!'”
The Romanian national team spent the interim period reviewing the results of its athletes on the floor. The President of the Romanian Olympic Committee, Mihai Covaliusent a letter of protest to the gymnastics federation to contest the result after 17-year-old Maneca-Voinea decided to give up the sport. In a statement shared on Facebook, it was announced that Maneca-Voinea “has publicly declared that she is giving up the practice of this sport as a result of today’s decision.”
Covalius’ statement continued: “The punctual evaluation modules agree and reject the comprehensive motive proposal because the regulation entails serious prejudices towards the idea of international sport, which have a particular impact on sport and could cause serious damage to the idea of international sport. The sports media at international level, which publicly declare their renunciation of the practice of sport, can follow a decision on compelling moral factors to analyze a final decision, make fundamental choices and communicate them.”
Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.
Naomi Baker/Getty ImagesManeca-Voinea’s mother, Camelia VoineaShe also believes that her daughter was judged unfairly.
“Sabrina didn’t leave the mat for any acrobatic line, they are all here, she deserves a medal,” Voinea, herself a silver medalist, wrote in Romanian on Facebook. “We stopped gymnastics here today, nobody is fighting for our rights! We love all of you infinitely who supported us ❤️. That was all I could bear!”
Former Olympians have sided with the Romanian gymnasts and called for a thorough review of the scores.
“We have to be clear about Sabrina because this child has worked very hard,” Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci said Euronews Romania. “For me, Sabrina Voinea is the biggest dilemma because nobody knew what was happening with the deduction of a tenth. It is a deduction in neutral mode, minus a tenth that is normally given when you are off the pitch.”
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Comăneci, 62, added: “I have now looked at the video, the corners, the video that NBC sent. They also did not understand why there was this deduction. I asked the main referee and she said she put the heel down. I have not seen any pictures of her putting the heel down (outside the court boundary).”
The Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacuwill also boycott the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris in protest.
“I have decided not to take part in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris after scandalous incidents in gymnastics in which our athletes were treated with absolute dishonor,” said 56-year-old Ciolacu in a social media statement. “To revoke a medal earned for honest work because of an appeal… is completely unacceptable!”
Ciolacu continued: “(Ana and Sabrina) You have a whole nation behind you, for whom your work and your tears are more valuable than any medal, no matter what precious metal it is made of.”
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Amid the drama, Chile’s coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi countered accusations that she and the U.S. team judges cheated to secure Chile’s bronze. “I don’t really have to explain it, but I will ONCE,” she captioned her Instagram post on Tuesday, August 6. “Jordan’s highest possible SV on floor is 5.9. In qualification and team final she received 5.8 and we didn’t question it because we saw not all elements were completed. In floor final we thought I was better and since I was ranked 5th and had nothing to lose I sent the request so I wouldn’t regret not asking. I didn’t think it would be accepted and to my surprise it was.”
Canqueteau-Landi, 44, went on to say that Chiles won her medal fair and square and “didn’t steal anything from anyone.” She added, “I just did my job and fought for my athlete. Do I feel sorry for the Romanian athlete? Of course I do! It was so sad and heartbreaking to watch, but that’s sport! You don’t have to like it, but you have to respect the result and more importantly, respect Jordan and not tear her down because you disagree. She EARNED this bronze medal, her first individual Olympic medal, and I couldn’t be more proud and excited!”
On Saturday, August 10, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the Romanian team’s request for a ruling on the validity of the American application had been submitted four seconds after the deadline, resetting Chile’s score to its original score of 13.666. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) confirmed that Chile’s was in fifth place following the ruling, and the International Olympic Committee confirmed a day later that, based on the CAS results, it planned to “re-award” Chile’s medal to Barbosu.
