Romania did not come to lose at the 2024 Paris Olympics, especially after their gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea had points deducted for stepping out of bounds. The 17-year-old gymnast was competing in her exercise final, where she finished with a score of 13.700, penalized by losing 0.10 of a point. Her team requested the organization to review her performance because playback video does not show that she stepped out of bounds. As the Romanian team brought this to the attention of the judges, President Mihai Covaliu also commented on the matter.
The 46-year-old politician released a statement shared on Facebook on August 6: “With respect to Olympic values, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee forwards this address, through which we respectfully request you to arrange the review by the decisive factors of the case of the Romanian athlete Sabrina Maneca-Voinea regarding the score given to the execution of the exercise in the final round, disputed on Monday, August 5, 2024.”
He continued, “The way of appreciating the score given and the refusal to present the reasons/evidence to reject the objection submitted within the period provided for by the regulation seriously damages both the image of international gymnastics and especially affects the athlete, endangering her mental health. Mediating the case of the Romanian sport at the international level, her public declaration to give up practicing this sport as a result of today’s decision morally obliges the decision-makers to re-analyze, ground, and communicate the final decision.”
This comes shortly after Team USA’s gymnast Jordan Chiles also requested the judges to review her score, and her wish was granted, leading her to earn a bronze medal in the same event as Sabrina.
Though the Romanian gymnast did not snag a place on the podium, she expressed on her Instagram stories on August 5, “Thank you to everyone who encouraged me before, during, and after the competition… I hear more vividly than ever the words that the coaches repeated to us almost daily in the training room: ‘You, as Romanians, must be more than perfect in order not to leave room for interpretations!’ And here, it proves itself once again! Girls, head up and back straight! Keep believing in your dreams! Go Romania!”
