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Not as Good as Gold (NYT on Paul Hamm)
New York Times ^ | 08/24/04 | New York Times

Posted on 08/23/2004 8:57:10 PM PDT by conservative in nyc

Not as Good as Gold


Published: August 24, 2004

We were among those thrilled at the astonishing come-from-behind heroics of the American gymnast Paul Hamm in the men's gymnastics all-around competition at the Olympic Games last week. Mr. Hamm, who had been favored to win a gold medal, looked as if he had blown it when he stumbled and fell off the mat in the vaulting event, dropping him to 12th place. But in the final two events, the parallel bars and the high bar, he earned stunning marks that, when coupled with faltering performances by some leading competitors, propelled him to the head of the pack. It was an inspiring story of an athlete who had triumphed over seemingly impossible odds. The only trouble was, it now turns out that he didn't really deserve the gold.

Through no fault of Mr. Hamm's, some judges assigned a wrong start value (maximum score possible) for a South Korean gymnast's routine on the parallel bars. That value is critical because it is the number from which any mistakes by the gymnast are deducted to get his final score. Had the judges assigned the correct value, Yang Tae Young would have won the gold medal and Mr. Hamm the silver.

The International Gymnastics Federation acknowledged that a scoring mistake had been made and suspended three judges because of it. But federation officials are letting the medal awards stand. They had an easy out in that the South Korean delegation failed to protest the scoring mistake at the time, as required, and instead waited until two days later, after the medals had actually been awarded.

Still, it reeks of injustice that an athlete should lose a medal based on what amounts to a numerical error. Mr. Hamm, still juiced up with his extraordinary performance, has declared himself the real champion of that night and has resisted calls that he voluntarily yield the gold.

Our own feeling - and we speak as people who found Mr. Hamm's performance under pressure extraordinary - is that his gold is already a bit tarnished. If he won't do the magnanimous thing, then the International Olympic Committee ought to find a way to award duplicate gold medals as South Korean officials have suggested.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: hamm; olympics; slimes
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Typical liberal editorial from the typically liberal, ant-American New York Slimes.

This shows what's wrong with the liberal mindset --- perceived FAIRNESS matters. Rules are irrelevant. The South Koreans could have followed the rules and objected to the score within the time allotted. But they didn't. So the South Korean lost fair and square. But the anti-American Slimes doesn't see it that way.

Nevermind that, according to Paul Hamm's coach, the judges missed a couple other deductions they should have taken off of the South Korean's Young's score. That's not relevant to the anti-American Slimes. Once you start changing the rules to get to the so-called "FAIR" result, you only should change the rules that get you to the so-called "FAIR" result. Kind of like Algore in Florida in 2000.

Paul Hamm should voluntarily relinquish his gold when the Slimes admits that it prints all the news that's fit to print its liberal agenda.

1 posted on 08/23/2004 8:57:11 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
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To: conservative in nyc

I felt ssssooooo sorry for Paul!! The judges should all be thrown out! I NEVER saw anything like what happened!!!


2 posted on 08/23/2004 8:58:09 PM PDT by Jewels1091
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To: Jewels1091

I should add...tonight during the Oplymics...they said that the judges didn't take a deduction that they should have for the Korean, watching the tapes, so he would have finished the same!


3 posted on 08/23/2004 8:59:28 PM PDT by Jewels1091
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To: conservative in nyc

This whole thing is ridiculous. Remember how crazy the Koreans acted about that speed skater?


4 posted on 08/23/2004 9:00:58 PM PDT by TFine80 (DK'S)
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To: conservative in nyc

Somewhere, Roy Jones Jr. is laughing his a$$ off.


5 posted on 08/23/2004 9:01:02 PM PDT by fhayek
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To: conservative in nyc

the judges also missed a fault by the korean which, if counted, would have lowered his score by more than he would have gained.

So the only way the korean would have one would be by correcting the mistake that favored him and ignorning the mistake that cost him - all part of the same routine.

This article debunks all the feel-goodniks who think paul hamm should lose his medal:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/olympics/2004/writers/08/23/swift.gym/index.html


6 posted on 08/23/2004 9:02:08 PM PDT by flashbunny (Kerry helped move jobs to china - http://www.flashbunny.org/commentary/kerryoutsourced.html)
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To: Jewels1091

actually he would have had a lower score - the deduction they didn't take was greater than he would have gained for adjusting his starting score.


7 posted on 08/23/2004 9:02:48 PM PDT by flashbunny (Kerry helped move jobs to china - http://www.flashbunny.org/commentary/kerryoutsourced.html)
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To: TFine80

Deja-Vu:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/2002/speed_skating/news/2002/02/21/south_korea_lawsuit_ap/


8 posted on 08/23/2004 9:02:49 PM PDT by TFine80 (DK'S)
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To: conservative in nyc
This was discussed again during tonight's competition. Daggett(sp) went back through the Korean's parallel bar routine and pointed out that he SHOULD HAVE been docked more points. Something to do with too many pauses during the routine. That would have made the scoring foul-up moot. Anyway, crappy judging all over the place AGAIN tonight. Nemov was robbed. Just goes to show that JUDGED (subjective) sports don't belong...IMO.
9 posted on 08/23/2004 9:05:55 PM PDT by canalabamian (Common sense, unfortunately, is not very common)
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To: conservative in nyc
I just watched the finals of the gymnastics tonight and saw the controversy with the Russian. They had to go back and re score but it was still too low in my opinion.
That guy did some of the most amazing things I have ever seen on that high bar. He really was robbed.
Hamm was very good although I thought for what he did his score was a little high.
But vindication for Hamm was there when the Korean fellow Yang did his routine and faltered badly. I think that might just go a long way toward setting the record straight about who was the best of those two.
Anyone else see those finals????
10 posted on 08/23/2004 9:06:00 PM PDT by Captain Peter Blood
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To: conservative in nyc

South Korean team managers/coaches blew it. Tough.


11 posted on 08/23/2004 9:06:07 PM PDT by 1066AD
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To: conservative in nyc

Paul Hamm SHOULD NOT give up the gold. I think this is atrocious, the way he is being treated. It is NOT tarnished. He earned it fair and square. The Koreans should have protested the mistake at the time, not two days later.

Mistakes happen, especially in judged sports. There were mistakes that favored the Korean competitor. If those mistakes were corrected, the Korean might not even get the bronze. So they need to LET THIS GO.


12 posted on 08/23/2004 9:06:08 PM PDT by DameAutour (It's not Bush, it's the Congress.)
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To: flashbunny
Like I said, the Slimes editorial board makes a typically liberal argument --- only FAIRNESS matters, not rules. And if you can't get to the FAIR result, you only change the rules that will get you to your perceived FAIR result. So that the judges screwed up in the actual judging as well as the start value isn't relevant to the anti-American Slimes.

This is one of many reasons New Yorkers don't read the Slimes for their sports.

And yes, the South Koreans have shown themselves to be cry-babies once again.
13 posted on 08/23/2004 9:06:48 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
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To: conservative in nyc

I have a hard time watching any of these gymnasts, male or female.

I don't know what they're ingesting, but they all seem to have a strange look about them; big flattened heads with almost mongoloid type features and funny sounding voices.


14 posted on 08/23/2004 9:07:51 PM PDT by Lijahsbubbe
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To: conservative in nyc

Total BS! Tim Dagget pointed out that the Korean should have had even more points deducted than he did. He got what he deserved: the bronze.


15 posted on 08/23/2004 9:07:59 PM PDT by dougherty (I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. - Michelangelo)
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To: conservative in nyc
In this year's Olympics, best named the "NBC Female Derrierre Olympics," we are again treated to numerous truly athletic activities that are subjectively scored, and therefore, not pure sports.

Great 400 meter dash tonight. Surprise: the fastest guy won!

16 posted on 08/23/2004 9:08:34 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army and Supporting Bush/Cheney 2004!)
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To: conservative in nyc
I guess the NYT will now relinquish the Pulitzer's it won thru the Stalinist boot-licking of Walter Duranty??

Lead by example, lib-slime.

17 posted on 08/23/2004 9:08:47 PM PDT by keithtoo
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To: conservative in nyc
If I recall, it was a Korean boxer who benefited from a bad decision against Roy Jones. There was no talk of the Korean boxer giving up his medal.
18 posted on 08/23/2004 9:09:27 PM PDT by kabar
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To: xzins
In this year's Olympics, best named the "NBC Female Derrierre Olympics,"

You say that like there's something wrong with it.

Actually I prefer the term "Butt Floss Olympics".

19 posted on 08/23/2004 9:10:06 PM PDT by Numbers Guy
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To: conservative in nyc

Paul Hamm should now start campaigning for John Kerry. He didn't really deserve his medals either!


20 posted on 08/23/2004 9:11:24 PM PDT by fhayek
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