China won a silver medal in the women’s balance beam event at the Olympics on Monday. Unfortunately, the individual gymnastics competition is now marred by controversy.
A new behind-the-scenes video allegedly shows one of the judges showing partiality toward the Chinese team prior to her assignment.
The video, which first circulated through Whatsapp groups, was posted to X by Brazilian Olympic journalist Demetrio Vecchioli. It appears to be filmed in the warm-up gym and focuses on a woman said to be Zhou Qiurui, who won a bronze medal with Team China in the women’s team competition at the 1984 Olympic Games. She is currently working as a judge at the Olympics in Paris this summer.
If the video is as it appears, Zhou was fraternizing with the Chinese team prior to the balance beam competition. The woman pulls her phone out of her pocket and takes a photo of the silver medal that Qui Qiyuan won on the uneven bars.
Essa mulher chinesa de camisa branca, segurando a medalha de prata conquistada pela China, fotografando-a, é a árbitra chefe da prova de trave.
— Demétrio Vecchioli (@Olhar_Olimpico) August 5, 2024
Isso aconteceu agora há pouco no ginásio de aquecimento. pic.twitter.com/nwan8m4484
Exact, specific details surrounding the video are still unclear. We do not know exactly when it was filmed. We do not know the context.
However, Vecchioli is reporting that the video was captured just moments before the balance beam competition. Qiurui was one of the judges on assignment for the event.
Judges at the Olympics must remain neutral!
Interestingly enough, Zhou Yaqin of China won the silver medal despite a series that was very unbalanced at the beginning of her routine. She was the gold medal favorite by a large margin in the balance beam and had the highest degree of difficult, but had to kick high in the air to stay on the beam.
It could be debated whether the routine was worthy of a silver medal score. Team Brazil would argue that it was not. But their argument has a heavy bias because Rebeca Andrade finished fourth.
Zhou Yaqin was still spectacular…
With that being said, if Zhou Qiurui was indeed socializing with Team China prior to judging the balance beam, there are questions worth asking. A surfing judge in Tahiti was removed from his post mid-event after taking a photo with one of the athletes. Gymnastics competition is officially over, so that is not possible in this specific instance, but an investigation needs to be opened immediately.