Newz Forum: OLYMPICS: South Korean gymnast to appeal through courts

The South Korean gymnast who lost the all-around title to Paul Hamm because of a scoring error filed an appeal Sunday with a sports arbitration panel, asking it to help him get the gold medal.

Yang Tae-young wants the Court of Arbitration for Sport to order international gymnastics officials to correct the results from the all-around and adjust the medal rankings so that he gets the gold and the American gets a silver.

CAS said it would consider the appeal in Lausanne, Swtzerland, where it is based. With the games ending Sunday, there wasn't time to hear the case in Athens. CAS put off setting a date for the hearing until the International Gymnastics Federation, known as FIG, and the U.S. Olympic Committee could prepare their responses.

"I have no comment," FIG spokesman Philippe Silacci said. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

USOC officials did not immediately respond to a message for comment. USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi was traveling and could not be reached for comment.

Yang, who finished with a bronze, was wrongly docked a tenth of a point on his second-to-last routine. He finished third, 0.049 points behind Hamm. Add the extra 0.100, and Yang would have finished 0.051 points ahead of Hamm. That, however, assumes everything in the final rotation played out the same way.

Three judges were suspended after the error was discovered, but FIG said the results would stand because the South Koreans didn't protest the error until after the meet.

But the South Koreans continued to press their case for a gold medal. They appealed to the USOC and the International Olympic Committee, but IOC president Jacques Rogge rejected the idea of duplicate gold medals.

He reiterated that stance Sunday:

"Our position is extremely simple. The FIG has certified the result of the gymnastics competition." Rogge said. "The IOC has awarded the medals according to the certified results. Paul Hamm was declared the winner and therefore he has received the gold medal, and for us that is final."

Rogge said the IOC would not be part of any effort to ask Hamm to hand back the medal.

"This is final," he repeated.

FIG, however, asked Hamm to give up the medal as a gesture of sportsmanship. But the USOC called the request "deplorable" and said FIG should take responsibility for its own mistakes.

Hamm has repeatedly said he won't give up the gold unless ordered to

Paul Hamm should stand up and do the right thing. Give the medal back, there will be other olympics. Not patriotic for keeping a medal he didn't win farely.

Judges probably awarded the medal to Hamm out of sympathy. Judges were biased in their scoring, not good especially at that level.
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