Thread: what is going on with paul hamm?

Sorry, haven't watched the Olympics today. Had so much company and squeezed in most of Nascar, ate supper and came here. If you can find out what is going on, please let us know.

Originally Posted by jaynbobbi

Something to do with the scoring. I guess the Korean's set should have started with a score of 10 and they scored him based on starting a 9.9. The judges never realized the error and if he had been scored based on a 10 he would have beat Hamm. so I guess now they are not sure if they should award 2 golds or what. I hope this is making a little sense....I am confusing myself!!! LOL

Reminds me of the controversary with the pairs ice skaters recently. The judges reviewed and reviewed and ended up giving 2 gold medals. I think sometimes they do it wrong or show favortism and then when they get caught, how do you take a medal of any color away from the atheletes and their country??? I most definitely wouldn't want to be a judge!!!

Paul Hamm Unhappy About S. Korean Protest
By EDDIE PELLS

http://sportsillustrated.netscape.cn...43.htm&sc=2090



ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The South Koreans aren't the only ones with a complaint. After being engulfed by the dispute over his all-around gold medal for two days, American Paul Hamm got a little annoyed, too.

``I shouldn't even be dealing with this,'' Hamm said Sunday after failing to win medals in event finals for pommel horse and floor exercise.

Hamm won the gold Wednesday after judges incorrectly scored Yang Tae-young's parallel bars routine, failing to give the South Korean enough points for the level of difficulty, known as the start value. Yang ended up with the bronze, and his country's Olympic committee is appealing the results.

While Hamm was competing, U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth and chief executive Jim Scherr met with members of the South Korean delegation to discuss the dispute. ``The Koreans requested a meeting and we listened to their point of view,'' USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said.


The International Gymnastics Federation admitted a mistake was made by suspending the two judges who determined the start values, along with the judge who oversaw the panel, George Beckstead of the United States.


But the federation, known as FIG, said the results will not be changed because the complaint wasn't lodged until after the meet.


Hamm believes the problem started when FIG decided to review the videotapes of the event after the South Koreans complained. Reviewing tapes to handle protests is not allowed in international gymnastics. ``The people I'm a little bit upset with is FIG because this matter should have never even come up,'' Hamm said. ``The rules can't be changed after he competition is over.''


Had the South Koreans protested immediately, a scoring change could have been made. They insist they did. But American judge Henry Bjerke, who was on the parallel bars panel, said he never saw the South Koreans approach the judges' table. ``They waited until the medals had been given out - until after the fact,'' Bjerke said. ``It was a very unfortunate mistake and it happened at the worst possible time.''


Hamm finished sixth on the pommel horse and fifth on the floor Sunday. He refused to blame the stir caused by the South Koreans' protest for the poor finishes. ``It has been a slight distraction for me,'' he said. ``But I thought I performed pretty well tonight.''


On Monday, he has two more chances, in the high bar and parallel bar finals. Yang also will compete in the high bar.


At issue in the all-around was the tenth of a point deducted from Yang's start value in the fifth of six events. He received a 9.9 for a routine that had been given a 10 start value in team preliminaries and finals.


He finished third, 0.049 points behind Hamm, who came back from 12th with two events left for the stirring victory. With the extra 0.100, Yang would have finished first and Hamm second, and Kim Dae-eun of South Korea would have won the bronze instead of silver. ``It's a very obvious decision,'' said Jae Soon-yoo, an official for the South Korean delegation. ``We just want this misjudgment to be corrected.''


Hamm and his coach, Miles *****, said that wasn't the only mistake made. They looked at Yang's routine and saw a place where he should have received a 0.2-point deduction that the judges didn't take. ``It's like going back and saying you saw a holding call in the third quarter of a football game that changed the result,'' ***** said. ``There's nothing you can do about it.''


USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi said he wasn't taking a stand on whether Hamm should share the gold medal with Yang. He did, however, reiterate that he didn't think the result should be changed. ``In a sport where things are decided by thousandths of points, there are zillions of places for little mistakes,'' Colarossi said. ``I'm proud of Paul. I stand behind Paul.''


Earlier Sunday, the South Koreans met with lawyers to plan their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Officials at CAS, however, indicated they won't take the case.


``If it's a dispute related to scoring or judging it would be very difficult for CAS to review the decision of the gymnastics federation,'' CAS General Secretary Matthieu Reeb said. ``As a practice, CAS does not review field-of-play decisions.''


The case brought back memories of the figure skating scandal at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, when Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were given duplicate gold medals after a French judge said she had been ``pressured'' to put a Russian couple ahead of them.


But there are no such signs of impropriety in this case.


IOC president Jacques Rogge said it was unlikely his organization would step in because ``the IOC never intervenes in a ranking issue.''


Hamm simply wants the dispute to be over. He doesn't feel his gold medal has been marred. ``I personally feel I was the Olympic champion that night,'' he said. ``If you're going to open the door to changing the rules, you're going to open the door to doing everything. That's why we have those rules in place.''


AP Sports Writers Stephen Wilson and Nancy Armour contributed to this report.



08/23/04 01:20

Gymnastics Official Nixes Second-Gold Idea
By NANCY ARMOUR



ATHENS, Greece (AP) - While the U.S. Olympic Committee and South Koreans tried to work out a deal in a dispute over Paul Hamm's gold medal, the head of gymnastics' ruling body all but said they were wasting their time. Bruno Grandi, president of the International Gymnastics Federation, told The Associated Press on Monday night that rules prevent him from asking for another gold medal to make up for the scoring error that cost Yang Tae-young the all-around title.

``I don't have the possibility to change it,'' Grandi told the AP. ``Our rules don't allow it.''

Hamm won the gold Wednesday after judges incorrectly scored Yang's parallel bars routine, failing to give him enough points for the level of difficulty. Yang ended up with the bronze while Hamm became the first American man to win the event.

USOC officials met with members of the South Korean Olympic Committee on Sunday and Monday, and were trying to find an ``equitable solution,'' said Darryl Seibel, a spokesman for the USOC.


``We have indicated to them that we would be willing to consider the notion of a second gold medal being awarded,'' Seibel told the AP. ``It's up to the Korean Olympic Committee to determine how it wants to proceed. There's a willingness to at least consider this idea.''


Jae Soon-yoo, an official for the South Korean delegation, was in a meeting Monday and didn't immediately comment.


But all the negotiations might be for naught. Even if the USOC and South Koreans reach an agreement, FIG would have to ask the International Olympic Committee to award a second gold medal.


And that would require FIG to rewrite its rulebook.


Under the rules, protests have to be filed immediately, and the South Koreans waited until after the meet to lodge their complaint. FIG rules also prevent scores from being changed once the meet is over.


``If the athlete does not agree to give up his medal, I don't know what we can do,'' IOC member Alex Gilady said.


And Grandi seemed to indicate that's just what he would like.


``For me, the best situation would be for Paul Hamm to take this medal and give ...'' Grandi told the AP, pretending to remove a medal from around his neck and leaving the sentence unfinished.


Still, the federation made an exception at least once before. When Irina Karavaeva learned that a judging error had wrongly given her the title at the 2001 trampoline world championships, she asked that it be given to the rightful winner, Anna Dogonadze. Grandi gave his OK, and the results were officially changed.


At issue here is the tenth of a point deducted from Yang's start value in the fifth of six events in the all-around. He received a 9.9 for a routine that had been given a 10 start value in team preliminaries and finals.


He finished third, 0.049 points behind Hamm, who came back from 12th with two events left for the victory. With the extra 0.100, Yang would have finished first and Hamm second, and Kim Dae-eun of South Korea would have won the bronze instead of silver.


The federation admitted the error and suspended the two judges who determined the start values - Benjamin Bango of Spain and Oscar Buitrago Reyes of Colombia - along with the judge who oversaw the panel, George Beckstead of the United States. But nothing more can be done, it insists.


``I have no other possibilities,'' Grandi told the AP.


South Korea promised to take its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, although it had not filed its appeal as of Monday night. CAS indicated it wouldn't take the case because it involved a ``field of play'' decision, so the South Koreans approached the USOC about finding a diplomatic solution.


``All of this, it opens a whole Pandora's box of future challenges that aren't within the rules,'' said Peter Vidmar, the silver medalist in the 1984 Olympics. ``What's the statute of limitations for grievances in sport now? There have to be rules.''


Former U.S. coach Peter Kormann agreed.


``You don't get Olympic gold medals in a gumball machine,'' Kormann said in a telephone interview from New York. ``If you go back and change that because of a start score mistake, that changes the whole thing. That tarnishes everyone.''


The case has brought back memories of the figure skating scandal at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, when Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were given duplicate gold medals after a French judge said she had been ``pressured'' to put a Russian couple ahead of them.


But there are no such signs of impropriety in this case, only human error. "After this competition is over, FIG needs to do a review of its policies for on-the-field review,'' USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi said. ``I think we'll have some new guidelines and procedures to work under. Or, at least, some revised ones.''


Asked about the furor Sunday night, Hamm said he understood why the South Koreans were upset, but he didn't think a second gold medal was warranted. ``The people I'm a little bit upset with is FIG because this matter should have never even come up,'' Hamm said. ``The rules can't be changed after the competition is over.''


Hamm admitted the controversy has been a distraction, and he failed to medal on the floor, pommel horse or parallel bars. He was also competing Monday night in the high bar finals, which was sure to include added drama because Yang also qualified.


``It's a mess,'' Vidmar said. ``The Olympic Games is a celebration of sport and every athlete should have a chance to celebrate their efforts. It makes it more difficult for Paul to celebrate. It certainly makes it more difficult for the Koreans to celebrate. There's no closure to it.''

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/sto...05.htm&sc=2090

08/23/04 16:28