Romanian Olympic Committee Appeals Controversial Gymnastics Floor Routine Scoring

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Romanian gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea could still yet wind up with an Olympic bronze medal to her name.

Maneca-Voinea finished in a tie for fourth in the gymnastics floor routine final after a controversial inquiry gave bronze to American Jordan Chiles.

But the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee isn’t taking that laying down, instead issuing a statement and taking their case to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“With respect to Olympic values, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee forwards this address, by which it respectfully requests you to order the re-analysis by the decision-making factors of the case of the Romanian athlete Sabrina Maneca Voinea regarding the score given to the execution of the exercise in the floor final, contested on Monday, August 5, 2024,” the statement reads.

Maneca-Voinea and teammate Ana Barbosu initially finished in the tie for bronze in the gymnastics floor routine with a score of 13.700. Barbosu believed to have won a medal and even paraded around the arena with her country’s flag to celebrate.

How, the USA had filed an inquiry into the judgment of Jordan Chiles, who was initially announced as the fifth-place finisher with a score of 13.666. Judges determined that Chiles had not been given full credit for a rotation in her routine and adjusted her score to 13.766, handing her bronze.

Video Backs Up Romanian Gymnast’s Case For Olympic Bronze Medal

But Romania is not appeal Chiles’ score. Instead, Romania claims that Maneca-Voinea was incorrectly scored and that she was given an improper deduction that cost her the bronze medal.

Why didn’t they inquire about the score at the time? That’s anyone’s guess.

“We remind you that Sabrina Voinea was de-pointed by a tenth because she allegedly went into an acrobatic line with her heel outside the line,” the Romanian statement reads. “Video and photo footage disprove this theory.”

Romanian gymnastics legend posted a tweet seemingly backing that statement.

Romanian officials claim they appealed the scoring in a timely manner, but that the appeal was denied. If that’s the case, it sure sounds like Maneca-Voinea could well become an Olympic medalist.