One prominent national leader isn’t taking too well to his country’s results at the Paris Olympics.
Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu will not attend the Olympics’ closing ceremony after the country’s gymnasts, Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea finished in fourth and fifth, respectively, in a women’s floor exercise final tainted with controversy,
“I decided not to participate in the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, after the scandalous situation in gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonorable way,” Ciolacu wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “To withdraw a medal earned by honest work on the basis of an appeal, which neither the coaches nor the top technicians understand, is totally unacceptable!”
Ciolacu, 56, even compared the situation to Romanians having medals overridden by the Soviet Union.
“The fact that hundreds of millions of viewers from all over the world were, like us Romanians, effectively shocked by this terrible scene, shows that somewhere, in the system of organizing this competition, something is wrong,” he wrote. “I don’t want to argue with anyone today, but I just choose to protest with my gesture against a blatant injustice towards some Romanian women who have fully proven their worth! 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!”
American Jordan Chiles initially finished in sixth place behind the two Romanians, but team officials believed judges had erred in their scoring.
After further review, that suspicion was proven correct when the lead of Chiles’ routine was given a D-start value instead of a C.
Ultimately, the 23-year-old slotted above Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea with a 13.766 score, besting the pair at 13.700 apiece.
The medal gave Chiles her second of the 2024 Games and first in her career in the individual category.
Subsequently, Chiles and teammate Simone Biles — who finished with silver — bowed to gold winner Rebeca Andrade in an iconic photo.
On the flip side, the 18-year-old Barbosu was emotional as she left the floor without medaling.
Altogether, Romania has totaled seven total medals, good for 15th among nations, while America is running away with things at 82 medals.