2004 Olympics: Gymnastics

11:36 PM CDT on Friday, August 27, 2004

By CATHY HARASTA / The Dallas Morning News

ATHENS, Greece – Ten days after Paul Hamm became the first U.S. man to win an Olympic all-around title, U.S. Olympic Committee officials chastised the International Gymnastics Federation for pressuring Hamm to return his medal.

USOC leaders received a letter Thursday from the federation requesting that Hamm surrender the gold as a show of sportsmanship. The letter reiterated that the federation had admitted a judging error in the men's all-around.

The USOC responded Friday with its strongest support of Hamm since a South Korean challenge of his gold medal began a week ago. USOC chief executive Jim Scherr's reply to international federation president Bruno Grandi's letter called the federation's "improper" and "outrageous." Scherr also acknowledged that the USOC had been slow to come to Hamm's defense.

Two days after Hamm, 21, won the all-around title, the federation suspended three of the event's judges after a tape review that showed that bronze medalist Yang Tae-Young of South Korea should have received the full start value of 10.0 instead of a 9.9 on the parallel bars. The start value is a routine's level of difficulty based on the sum of its components. If the error had not been made, Yang would have won gold.

The USOC refused to turn over the letter to Hamm, who is in the United States rehearsing for the Rock 'n Roll Gymnastics Tour, which begins next month. He also won two silver medals in Athens.

Michael Mulvey / DMN

Paul Hamm performs on the parallel bars during the men's gymnastics all-around final.

The International Olympic Committee sided with the USOC, which called the federation's pressure on Hamm "deplorable" and an attempt to shift responsibility for mismanagement of the Aug. 18 competition's aftermath.

Hamm responded by thanking the USOC and the IOC for their support. A statement through his representative, Sheryl Shade, reasserted that he is the men's Olympic all-around champion.

"For anyone to suggest otherwise is mendacious, capricious and just plain wrong," the statement said. "It is not the duty of athletes to resolve problems caused by [the federation]."

"They're deflecting their own incompetence and their problem to a young athlete who simply came here to compete in the Olympic Games," USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth said. "We have reviewed the action of the International Gymnastics Federation and we find them deplorable."

The protest came too late under the federation's rule that all inquiries must be made before the end of the rotation following the event in question.

"This is ridiculous, just crazy" said U.S. men's Olympic team head coach Kevin Mazeika of Houston, who said he applauded the USOC's strong stance on Hamm's behalf. "The federation is going against its own rules."

The USOC took Grandi and the federation to task for the letter's assertion that the IOC would "highly appreciate" having Hamm take it upon himself to return the gold medal.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said a second gold was out of the question.

"We are not going to give medals for so-called humanitarian or emotional reasons," Rogge told the Associated Press. "There was a huge Korean push to have a second medal ... but we said no," Rogge said. "You can't stop national Olympic committees from asking for more medals; this will never stop. The IOC will be consistent and say no."

Jae Soon-yoo, spokeswoman for the South Korean delegation, said the decision was in the international federation's hands. The South Korean delegation canceled a scheduled news conference with Yang on Friday night.

"The Koreans didn't get their inquiry form in time," Mazeika said. "As a coach, as soon as I see a start value I don't agree with, I walk over immediately and hand in an inquiry form. I get an answer immediately."

The federation's letter noted some of Hamm's recent published remarks that he believed he won the title fairly but would return the medal if the federation declared he should. But the federation's letter again stated that no results will be changed.

"Paul Hamm is the gold medalist," said IOC communications manager Emmanuelle Moreau. "This is a fact. The gymnastics federation has certified the results."

The USOC on Monday offered to back the notion of awarding a second gold medal after meeting with South Korean officials. But the conciliatory gesture did nothing to end the controversy.

Ueberroth praised Hamm's comeback victory after a fall from the vault's landing platform plummeted him to 12th place. He needed stellar performances on his final events to come back

"In the face of adversity, he refused to give up," Ueberroth said. "Now, faced with more adversity, he will again not give up, and he will have the full support of the United States Olympic Committee with him."

E-mail charasta@dallasnews.com