"Romania coach fumes at Ferrari" - victoryhttp://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6158735,00.html
[quote]AARHUS, Denmark, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Romanian coach Nicolae Forminte lashed out at the judges at the world gymnastics championships after Vanessa Ferrari was declared the winner of the women's all-round contest despite falling off the beam.
"Apparently you have to fall off an apparatus in order to become world champion. It's laughable," he told reporters on Thursday.
"In the whole history of gymnastics, it never happened that a gymnast who falls won the world title."
He later went up to silver medallist Jana Bieger of the United States at the news conference and told her "You should sit in the middle" pointing to the winner's chair.
The 16-year-old smiled at the suggestion and shrugged it off.[/quote]
Jana and also Forminte's gymnasts did not fall off any apparatus. Romanian Sandra Izbasa finished 3rd though, and Italian Ferrari scored higher and won gold. After the 3rd rotation Pang Panpan was also on the top of the standing even though she had a fall also on beam, but she had another major mistake on vault in the 4th rotation, while Ferrari had a floor routine that got the crowd cheering. She got 15.500 for her floor routine, too big according to Forminte.
Forminte on Ferrari's floor score:
[quote] "I went over to a friend from the floor judging panel and said that it's not possible for a routine with a difficulty of maximum 6.1 to get that kind of a mark," said Forminte.
"This new scoring system fuels these kinds of situations."[/quote]
The officials response:
[quote]Officials were quick to highlight that Ferrari's triumph proved the new cumulative scoring system, awarded for content and execution, was rewarding those who are willing to take risks with their performances.[/quote]
--> in another article, Grandi says that changes do need to be made to the code of points still:
[quote]Grandi concedes minor changes are needed, and quickly. Revisions must be in place for next year's world championships and must hold through the Beijing Olympics, he said. One tweak could come on specifying exactly how and when to use the sport's new instant replay system. Had reviews and inquiries been better spelled out in Athens, the Hamm imbroglio might have been avoided.[/quote]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061017/ap_on_sp_ot/gym_worlds_grandi_2
another article, someone says that the code of points isn't more dangerous for the gymnasts once they figure out that you can win better by not doing the dangerous skills and being more consistent, b/c deductions / mistakes count more, so the code of points isn't more dangerous for the gymnasts
Izbasa and Bieger:
[quote] "The competition is what it is, I can't comment on the judging," Izbasa said as she refused to get drawn into the argument.
"It was very important to me to prove that I can do four apparatus, including bars, and compete at a high level."
Bieger also did not want to take anything away from Ferrari's victory and instead highlighted her own achievement.
"Winning the silver medal individually is fantastic, I never thought I would be in this place, I was just hoping to be on the podium."[/quote]
