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Paris Olympics: Romania files appeal, believes gymnast should be awarded bronze over USA's Jordan Chiles

jason owens
Staff writer
·5 min read
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The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee has appealed the results of the gymnastics floor routine at the Paris Games on behalf of gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, whom it believes should have been awarded a medal.

The ROSC announced the appeal on Wednesday that's been filed with International Gymnastics Federation.

"With respect to Olympic values, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee forwards this address, by which it respectfully requests you to order the re-analysis by the decision-making factors of the case of the Romanian athlete Sabrina Maneca Voinea regarding the score given to the execution of the exercise in the floor final, contested on Monday, August 5, 2024," a statement from ROSC president Mihai Covaliu reads.

Romanian gymnasts Ana Bărbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea finished the event in a third-place tie with scores of 13.700. Bărbosu was initially declared the bronze-medal winner over her teammate because of a tiebreaker for a higher execution score. She celebrated on the mat with her country's flag, believing that she'd secured the former gymnastics powerhouse's first Olympic medal since 2012.

But as Bărbosu celebrated, the final results changed. USA had filed an inquiry into the judgment of Jordan Chiles, who was initially announced as the fifth-place finisher with a score of 13.666. Judges granted the inquiry and adjusted the score. They determined that Chiles had not been given full credit for a rotation and adjusted her score to 13.766.

The adjustment was enough to award Chiles the bronze medal, knocking Bărbosu off the podium. Brazil's Rebeca Andrade won gold, and USA's Simone Biles won silver. Bărbosu and the rest of the stadium learned of the adjusted results as she celebrated on the floor with the Romanian flag. She soon left the gym in tears.

Romania, however, is not appealing Chiles' adjusted score or to return Bărbosu to bronze-medal position. Inquiries are not uncommon in gymnastics. If judges find a mistake, scores are adjusted up or down based on the new information, similar to a call by a referee being overturned by replay review in football, basketball or baseball.

It's appealing because it believes that the routine of Bărbosu's teammate Maneca-Voinea was incorrectly scored and that she was given an improper deduction that knocked her out of bronze-medal position.

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 05: Sabrina Maneca-Voinea of Team Romania competes during the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Balance Beam Final on day ten of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 05, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Romania has filed an appeal on behalf of Sabrina Maneca-Voinea from Monday's controversial floor routine final. (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

The ROSC argues that Maneca-Voinea was penalized 0.1 points for stepping out of bounds on her routine when she did not actually step out.

"We remind you that Sabrina Voinea was de-pointed by a tenth because she allegedly went into an acrobatic line with her heel outside the line," the ROSC statement reads. "Video and photo footage disprove this theory."

Romanian icon Nadia Comaneci — whose perfect 10 on the uneven bars and all-around gold medal routine in 1976 is the stuff of Olympic legend — weighed in on social media with video that appears to support the ROSC's case.

In its statement, the ROSC declares that it previously filed an appeal of the score in a timely manner that was rejected.

"We make this request based on the care that the International Olympic Committee and the entire world sports movement gives to the athlete," the statement reads.

"The way of assessing the points awarded and the refusal to fully present the reasons/evidence for the rejection of the appeal filed within the deadline set by the regulation brings serious damage both to the image of international gymnastics, but especially affects the athlete, even endangering his mental health."

While focusing on Maneca-Voinea's score, the ROSC statement did address the Bărbosu controversy.

"Ana Bărbosu, who for a minute and a half was in 3rd place, was also a victim in the context of awarding grades and accepting appeals."

The entirety of the situation has been a cause of uproar in Romania. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Tuesday that he was boycotting the Olympic Closing Ceremony based on Chiles being moved ahead of Bărbosu to the podium.

“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 dishonorable manner,” Ciolacu wrote on Facebook. “To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal ... is totally unacceptable!”

That statement was released before the announcement of the ROSC's appeal on Maneca-Voinea's behalf. Ciolacu vowed that Maneca-Voinea and Bărbosu would be celebrated as Olympic medalists upon their return to Romania.

"Sabrina and Ana Maria, you have a whole nation by your side for whom your work and tears are more valuable than any medal, no matter what precious metal it is!" he wrote. "And I assure you that the Romanian state will treat you, including in terms of prizes, like Olympic medalists. Because that's what you are to all of us!"

The International Gymnastics Federation had not filed a public response to the ROSC appeal as of Wednesday night.