Chinese gymnast He Kexin tied American rival Nastia Liukin on Bars. But under a complicated but logical tiebreak system, China got the Gold, USA the Silver.
(AP Photo / August 18, 2008)
Nastia’s father / coach Valeri tied for an Olympic medal in the past — when both athletes stood atop the podium, both winning gold.
Tiebreaks determined Beijing medals, so far, in
About.com Gymnastics has a poll on the topic. And some background:
… The rule to break ties has been in effect since after the 1996 Olympics, and was at the direction of the IOC, according to FIG president Bruno Grandhi.
He told NBCOlympics.com, “For me, it’s not correct. When two people arrive on the same level, they are champions. But this competition doesn’t belong to us. It is the IOC’s.”
Tiebreakers Add New Controversy to Event Finals Day Two
But before you get too outraged about yet another complication in our sport, frustrating the media and the general public, think back to what happened before the rule was imposed.
Judges who could not decide who should win a Final … deliberately tied gymnasts. We ended up with too many ties.
I’ve got mixed feelings on the tiebreak rule. I liked it in 2004 when Kyle Shewfelt took Gold on Floor over Dragalescu in a tiebreak. But it’s yet another barrier between our sport and the general public. First we lose the “perfect 10”. Now this.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 