"We will fight until we exhaust all legal means" - Romanian gymnastics president throws support behind Ana Barbosu amid Paris Olympics row

By Agnijeeta Majumder

Modified Aug 06, 2024 16:09 GMT

Ana Barbosu, the Romanian who controversially lost the bronze in the floor finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has received support from Carmencita Constantin, the President of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. According to Constantin, the Romanian sporting community is willing to cross mountains to bring back the medal Barbosu lost to Jordan Chiles at Bercy Arena.

The 2020 Junior European all-around champion participated in her maiden Olympic edition in Paris, aiming for her first podium. In the floor finals, she almost got it but the victory was short-lasting. Ana Barbuso received 14.700 to initially finish third behind Rebeca Andrade and Simone Biles.

Team USA thought that the fifth-finisher Jordan Chiles' score of 14.666 didn't do justice to her routine, since one of her leaps was scored 0.30 when it should have been 0.40. After an appeal, the judges altered the score and upgraded Chiles' position to third with 14.766, thus removing Ana Barbosu from the podium.

Barbosu, who was already in the midst of celebrating with the Romanian flag, broke down in tears as the new scores flashed. The sight struck a sympathetic chord among the Romanian sporting community. In response, Constantin went live on Euronews to state that the federation will exhaust all legal means to give Barbosu the bronze back.

"We will fight until we exhaust all legal means. The inquiry was not submitted within the prescribed time," said Constantin. (via GYMeme's X page)

Former Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comaneci, who was the youngest gymnast to achieve perfect scores at the Olympics, extended support to Barbosu as well, stressing on the importance of protecting athletes' mental health.

"I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them," she wrote in her X handle.

Ana Barbosu took her floor finals loss in a positive light

Despite the ongoing tension, Ana Barbosu only expressed gratitude for her maiden Olympic experience. The 18-year-old exuded pride in achieving the 7th place in the Olympics, and upgrading her position from eighth to fifth in the floor routine.

"Competing with the most amazing teammates, and placing 7th at the Olympics is a huge accomplishment! Being in two individual finals was more than I dreamed of. Going from 8th to 4th in the floor final was exciting!" she wrote in her Instagram handle.

Ana Barbosu added:

"None of this would’ve been possible without the people who were unconditionally supporting me. A big thank you to all of them!"

Sabrina Maneca Voinea, another Romanian gymnast who executed a stellar floor routine as well, received support from Mihai Covaliu, the President of the Olympic and Sports Committee. Covaliu has sent a letter of protest to FIG, asking for a re-analyzation of Voinea's score.