The final event of women’s gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics ended dramatically at the Bercy Arena. Simone Biles, known for her dominance in floor exercises throughout the competition, made errors in two of her tumbling passes by stepping out of bounds. This allowed Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade to win the gold medal. Biles, however, secured the silver medal, earning her 11th Olympic medal.
Romania’s Ana Barbosu initially believed she had won the bronze medal. She celebrated with the Romanian flag draped around her shoulders after scoring 13.700, which temporarily placed her in third. But the celebration was premature.
U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles, the last competitor, scored 13.666. However, Chiles’ coaches filed an inquiry, questioning the difficulty level of her score. Upon review, the judges raised Chiles’ score to 13.766, bumping Barbosu off the podium.
While Chiles was overcome with happy tears, Barbosu left the arena heartbroken and sobbing. Five-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci, a fellow Romanian, expressed her disappointment over the last-minute change, making her feelings very clear.
This is who Ana Barbosu🇷🇴 is.
Her entire career she has been known as the gymnast who reacts more positively to other people winning medals than her own performance
Its tough seeing the one gymnast who exemplified herself this way have such a horrible Olympic experience https://t.co/g2vHMNDDhb
— The Medal Count (@TheMedalCount_) August 5, 2024
Chiles’ coaches and the judges did not break any rules. The AP reported that under the sport’s governing body, coaches can question the difficulty score if they believe the judges missed an element or skill. Such challenges are resolved using video review.
One fan pointed out, “Nadia, you need to blame the coaches for allowing her to celebrate before the scores were finalized. She thought she had it but she did not. There should have been a reminder about scoring protocols (you don’t celebrate until you see the bronze next to your name in the arena).”
This is how Ana Barbosu🇷🇴 reacted at Euros when she was knocked from 3rd to 4th on the final score of the final event after going 0-6 on medals
She gave a big smile and walked out of the picture so the medalists could have their moment.
Watching her today was heartbreaking pic.twitter.com/ktVSqJamMm
— The Medal Count (@TheMedalCount_) August 5, 2024
Comaneci, who was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics, received a lot of support for her comment. While fans were happy for Chiles, 23, who won her first individual medal, many were also heartbroken for the 18-year-old Barbosu.
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Barbosa told reporters, “I did my best. It was the best I could do. I don’t think anyone can blame me for anything.” The Medal Count posted, “This is who Ana Barbosa is. Throughout her career, she has been known as the gymnast who reacts more positively to others winning medals than to her performance. It’s tough seeing the one gymnast who exemplified this way have such a disappointing Olympic experience.”
