Hamm asked to give up gold

[Odie 0]

The president of the International Gymnastics Federation asked Hamm to give up his gold medal that he has won in the all round. Here is the article Gold Medal

 

I feel sorry for Paul Hamm. He didn't create the mess that the International Gymnastics Federation has started. The South Koreans are just asking to share the medal. To ask him to give it up to fix their mistake is an insult not only to Hamm, but every single gymnast that was there that day.

Edited August 28, 2004 by Odie

[WEAREBORG4102 0]

That is absurd!!!!

 

It's like someone wins a competition and after the competition the opponent complains about the score and then the winners are forced to share the trophy. It's outrageous.

[mj 7]

Is it the North Koreans or the South Koreans?

 

In any case, I agree that it is not right in the name of sportsmanship to ask the young man to give up his medal. There are some indications that on the replay of the tape that there were missed decductions on the Korean's routine. They could second-guess themselves forever!

 

They should set a new precedent and award a second gold to the Korean. There should be some official way to correct gross errors by judges that are so costly to deserving atheltes.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

I haven't watched any of the Olympics at all so I am not up on any of the stories but did the gold medal holder (the one that has it now) win fair and square? Was it an honest victory?

 

If so then he shouldn't give it up. If he didn't win though, if there was an honest and correctable mistake that is within the established rules (assuming there are rules) then the real winner should get the medal.

 

But as I said I haven't followed it at all and don't intend on watching any of the games at all.

[Jack_Bauer 1]

Is it the North Koreans or the South Koreans?

 

In any case, I agree that it is not right in the name of sportsmanship to ask the young man to give up his medal. There are some indications that on the replay of the tape that there were missed decductions on the Korean's routine. They could second-guess themselves forever!

 

They should set a new precedent and award a second gold to the Korean. There should be some official way to correct gross errors by judges that are so costly to deserving atheltes.

257063[/snapback]

 

Well, it wouldn't be precedent in this case since a second Gold was awarded in the Skategate scandal of the Salt Lake City Olympics.

 

I think in this case a second gold should be awarded. It would just end this whole thing.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

Is it the North Koreans or the South Koreans?

 

In any case, I agree that it is not right in the name of sportsmanship to ask the young man to give up his medal. There are some indications that on the replay of the tape that there were missed decductions on the Korean's routine. They could second-guess themselves forever!

 

They should set a new precedent and award a second gold to the Korean. There should be some official way to correct gross errors by judges that are so costly to deserving atheltes.

257063[/snapback]

 

Well, it wouldn't be precedent in this case since a second Gold was awarded in the Skategate scandal of the Salt Lake City Olympics.

 

I think in this case a second gold should be awarded. It would just end this whole thing.

257071[/snapback]

 

Again, I don't know thw story other then what I've read here and a 30 second convesation with my neighbor a day or 2 ago but if one of the two men didn't actually win the competition why should he get a gold medal? In a competition there is a winner and a loser. If someone loses then he shouldn't be awarded with something that the winner gets. If the winner was awarded with the win by mistake then if (and only if) the rules allow for that to be corrected then it should be corrected and the proper medals given to the proper people.

 

If there is no provision in the rules for correcting mistakes then it should stay as it is, mistakes and all.

[Odie 0]

Is it the North Koreans or the South Koreans?

 

In any case, I agree that it is not right in the name of sportsmanship to ask the young man to give up his medal. There are some indications that on the replay of the tape that there were missed decductions on the Korean's routine. They could second-guess themselves forever!

 

They should set a new precedent and award a second gold to the Korean. There should be some official way to correct gross errors by judges that are so costly to deserving atheltes.

257063[/snapback]

 

Well, it wouldn't be precedent in this case since a second Gold was awarded in the Skategate scandal of the Salt Lake City Olympics.

 

I think in this case a second gold should be awarded. It would just end this whole thing.

257071[/snapback]

 

Again, I don't know thw story other then what I've read here and a 30 second convesation with my neighbor a day or 2 ago but if one of the two men didn't actually win the competition why should he get a gold medal? In a competition there is a winner and a loser. If someone loses then he shouldn't be awarded with something that the winner gets. If the winner was awarded with the win by mistake then if (and only if) the rules allow for that to be corrected then it should be corrected and the proper medals given to the proper people.

 

If there is no provision in the rules for correcting mistakes then it should stay as it is, mistakes and all.

257077[/snapback]

You are correct its South Koreans.

Edited August 28, 2004 by Odie

[Odie 0]

I watch some of it. All the gymnast where doing there best and showing it. The judges where making mistakes in scoring that was obvious to the a non-gymnast. There was a Russian gymnast who almost had a perfect performs and mess-up on the landing. The crowd booed the judges. It got so bad that Pual Hamm could go on with his route. The International Gymnastics Federation to review the score just to quit the crowd. The score didn't change at all, which was unfair to the Russian. The crowd settled down after gymnast asked them to settle down. All round the judging for the men gymnastics where poor.

Edited August 28, 2004 by Odie

[Ace 0]

Hamm should be allowed to keep his gold medal because this situation was no fault of his own. Why should he be punished for mistakes made by the olympic commitee and its judges? If cheating or conspiracy were involved, I'd feel differently, but this was just an instance of incompetency on the part of those who dealt with the scores. Even with the scores corrected, Hamm would still have been right behind the Korean competitor by hundreths of a point (correct?) and earned the silver. In this instance, I feel the only fair thing to do is to award a second gold medal.

 

Heck, they did that for the Canadian skaters at Salt Lake, and that resulted from one of the judges acting unethically. Why shouldn't it be the same when they act incompetently?

[mj 7]

The other thing to observe is the the way Pual Hamm continued to demonstrate championship form throughout the rest of the competition. He had to do his high bar routine in the midst of the booing over the the Russsian's low scores. He did one of the best routines of the night. The South Korean who complains about the judging fell apart during his routine that same night.

 

I still believe the correct governing bodies need to make the decision about the medal and establish a policy in this type of situation.

 

If they are going to try to pressure the athlete to make the decision to give up his medal, then they need to give him a seat on the committe!

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I didn't really follow any of it when it happened. But reading about it I found the review revealed the South Korean should have not only received the 10 points he had deducted - he should have had an additional 20 points deducted. In other words he may not have been entitled to a medal at all. So I don't see why they would continue to press the issue.

 

If it had been just the unfair deduction - I'm not sure what they should have done but I do think they need to establish a policy for situations such as this.

[Indy 8]

From what I understand, there is a policy. I believe I heard that the coaches can review the scores before the athletes go on to the next event. It is at that point that they have the opportunity to contest the scores and point out any mathematical errors. If the scores are not contested, the decision of the judges is final and the medals are awarded.

 

I feel that awarding of second gold medals is a bad precedent. It opens up the opportunity to contest past competitions. I'm sure that when the athletes are competing, it is difficult for their coaches to keep track of how the scoring is done, but in a competition as important as the Olympics, it would seem to be worth the effort.

Edited August 29, 2004 by Indy

[Jim Phaserman 0]

Paul Hamm is at no fault, the Judges are. I wonder though, if Hamm was Canadian, or British, or German, if they would have asked him to give back his medal...this is not the only problem with Americans being...I dunnow how best to phrase it...put into bad situations in the Olympics. One American swimmer was disqualified <which was later overturned> and the disqualifying judge didn't even bother to announce it in english...I dunnow, maybe I'm being a conspiracy theorist here, but I think there is more to it than "Oh, someone goofed up, give us your medal"

[Angela 1]

The whole athens Olympics from start to begining was a farce! So much went wrong, security was abysmal (A brizilian marathon runner was attacked on the course) races cancelled for weather reasons, and then somethings not delayed for weather reason when by rights the conditions were intolerable. the whole thing was a mess. and it was in the end a horah for greek pride, it didn't mention any of the other countries participating in the closing ceremony. Isn't the olympics about coming together as a world to share in sporting prowess?? Not sticking it to the rest of the world how wonderful you are and alienating the world. I much rathered the Atlanta games!

[Vulcan IDIC 0]

I really don't think that he should be asked to do that. It's really not fair because he didn't make the mistake, they did.