Romania prime minister to boycott Olympic closing ceremony as gymnastics protest
18-year-old Barbosu missed out on a medal by 0.1 of a point in the gymnastics women’s floor final
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Romania’s prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu is set to boycott the Olympics closing ceremony after gymnast Ana Barbosu was demoted from bronze place, while she was celebrating.
The 18-year-old thought she had taken third place in the floor event but the coaches of USA gymnast Jordan Chiles appealed her score and were successful.
She received a 0.1 boost to her initial score which was enough to overtake Barbosu for the bronze medal.
“I decided not to attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, following the scandalous situation in the gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonourable manner,” Ciolacu said on Facebook.
“To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal … is totally unacceptable!”
Despite the disappointment Barbosu and her teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who finished fifth in the competition, will be honoured as Olympic medallists by their country.
“You have with you an entire nation for which your work and tears are more precious than any medal, no matter what precious metal they are from,” he added.
The appeal from Chiles’ team meant that Team USA finished second and third in the women’s floor event with Simone Biles taking silver behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
“I didn’t even realize my coaches put in an inquiry,” Chiles told TeamUSA.com. “So, when it came through, I was very proud of myself. It was my first event final and it’s my first event medal. That is crazy.”
The USA women’s team finished this year’s event with 10 medals overall, including three golds.
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