The final event of women's gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics came to a dramatic conclusion at the Bercy Arena. Simone Biles, who's dominated the floor exercise throughout the competition in Paris, went out bounds on two of her tumblings passes, which opened the door for Brazil's Rebeca Andrade to win gold.
Biles won silver and earned her 11th Olympic medal. However, Romania's Ana Barbosu, who thought she won bronze, ultimately went home empty handed. She initially lifted the Romanian flag around her back in celebration, as her 13.700 score put her in third place after U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles, the final gymnast to compete, earned a 13.666.
However, Chiles' coaches filed an inquiry, contesting the difficulty level of her score. After review, the judges boosted Chiles' final score to 13.766, which knocked Barbosu off the podium.
While Chiles broke down in happy tears, Barbosu left the arena gutted, sobbing in defeat. Five-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci was devastated for her fellow Romanian gymnast, and made her opinion the last-minute switch extremely clear.
"I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this," Comaneci posted on X. "let’s protect them #anabarbosu."
Neither Chiles' coaches, nor the judges, did anything illegal. The AP reported , "Under the sport’s governing body, coaches may inquire about the difficulty score of one of their gymnasts if they believe judges have missed an element or a skill. Such challenges can be solved with the use of video."
One fan responded , "Nadia you need to be blaming the coaches for allowing her to celebrate before the scores are even in she thought she had it but she did not…should have refreshed everyone on scoring protocols (you don’t celebrate until you see the bronze next to your name in the arena)."
Comaneci, the first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10 at the Olympics, also received a lot of support for her comment. While fans were thrilled over Chiles, 23, winning her first individual medal, many viewers were heartbroken for the 18-year-old Romanian.
Barbosu told reporters afterward, "I did my best. It was the best I could... I mean, I don't think anyone has anything to blame me for."
The Medal Count posted, "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."
Related: Simone Biles Addresses Obvious Excuse for Stumbling During Final Olympic Events
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Related: Olympic Gymnast Rebeca Andrade's Huge Announcement Leaves Fans Heartbroken
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