Sportsmanship or Incompetence?

Once again, the Olympics have been tainted by a judging scandal. Paul Hamm, who won the gold medal in the men's all-around gymnastics competition with an inspiring comeback after falling during a vaulting routine, is now being pressured to give back the medal. Hamm Asked to Give Gold Medal to Korean Rival [Guardian Unlimited]. It is clear that the judges screwed up, incorrectly calculating the score of a Korean gymnast, giving him the bronze. But the Korean team waited 48 hours before protesting, and the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) refused to change the scoring, since their rules have no provisions to alter results once completed.

Case closed. Or one would think. Today, that same FIG body wrote to the US Olympic Committee, saying that returning the medal voluntarily "would be recognised as the ultimate demonstration of fair play by the whole world." Well, they make the rules, and everyone knows them. Do we change a SuperBowl result if the head coach doesn't ask for a replay? No. Do we change a World Series if the umpire blows a disputed third-strike call? No. I think the USOC response was perfectly appropriate, calling the request to give back Hamm's gold medal "improper, outrageous and so far beyond the bounds of what is acceptable that it refuses to transmit the letter to Mr Hamm." Peter Uberroth, USOC chairman, rightly said that the whole affair "reflects the International Federation's own incompetence." And then FIG president Bruno Grandi, who wrote the letter, was quoted as replying:

What a bunch of inconsistent boobs. Now, even worse is that during this mini-firestorm, no one seems to be focusing on the real tragedy in the gymnastics competition. Russian Alexsei Nemov, winner of 12 Olympic medals (4 gold, 2 silver and 6 bronze) over the years, had been shut out in Athens so far and steeled himself to perform perhaps the most spectacular high-bar routine in history -- what television commentators called "phenomenal," "unreal" and "a very special Olympics moment" -- that included a total of six release moves (more than any other competitor). But the judges gave him a mark of just 9.725, below all the other athletes, so obviously warped that the crowd loudly jeered for 10 minutes, forcing the IOC to intervene and orchestrate a correction. But even then, the score was adjusted so little (.037) that Nemov still finished out of the medals.

Nemov didn't protest, but instead rose to ask the crowd to quiet down, clasping his hands in tribute. A truly class act. That one finger to the lips by the Russian did more to illustrate the real meaning of sportsmanship than the transparently disingenuous morality of the FIG. Nemov was followed by Hamm, who amazingly performed extremely well with the crowd still jeering and whistling, and got a silver medal. He lost the gold under an arcane tie-breaker system after sharing the top score with an Italian gymnast. Hamm didn't protest. And the still-complaining Korean athlete? He folded under the pressure, botching his single release move, breaking the routine and stumbling badly on his dismount. This from someone who claims he should be considered the best all-around gymnast in the world! As the NBC color analysts observed, "Hamm has never messed up a high bar routine that badly in his life."

Champions and sportsmen don't complain. They perform in real-time and accept the results. Hamm and Nemov epitomize that ideal, which should be the Olympic ideal as well. It's the incomptent judges and the sporting bureaucrats who are diminishing sportsmanship here with their bumbling. And the Korean team wants to change the rules after the game has been played. Nemov and Hamm should be treasured, not criticized, and the Koreans can go fuck themselves.

 Posted by glenn