Paul HammPaul Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Washburn, Wisconsin) is a US gymnast. He became the first American man to win the all-round title at the world championships in Anaheim, California in 2003. He competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, alongside his twin brother Morgan, taking gold in the individual all-around competition, becoming the second American man in Olympic history to win the gold medal in that event. After a disastrous fall on his dismount in the vault, which ended with him nearly falling into the judges' bench, he dropped to 12th place and he looked to be out of the running for a medal of any sort. However, numerous faults by the other gymnasts, combined with Hamm's performance on the parallel bars, returned him to fourth place after the fifth rotation. His high bar routine gained him a score of 9.837, slightly more of than the score he needed to win the gold medal. His scores on the six disciplines were:
Gold controversyAlmost immediately after the competition, Hamm's gold in the Men's all-around event was called into doubt due to a scoring issue. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) ruled that South Korean bronze medalist Yang Tae-young was unfairly docked a tenth of a point in the all-around final, costing him the gold medal. The 0.100 points deducted from Yang's start value in parallel bars—the difficulty of the routine—was the difference between third and first. The federation suspended three judges, but it said the results will not be changed. The USOC argues that to do so would be to assume that everything would have played out the exact same way. Regardless of the issue above, the president of the FIG has stated that the results of the all-around final would not change, and that Paul Hamm would retain the gold medal. When asked whether or not he still deserved the gold medal by a news reporter, Hamm replied that he "shouldn't even be dealing with this." He later went on to say, "I do understand and feel the disappointment that Yang Tae Young has been subjected to, and I hope he understands what I have been through as well." The controversy over Hamm's gold became even more heated after FIG's president sent a letter to the United States Olympic Committee, addressed to Hamm, with directions to deliver the letter to Hamm. In relevant part, it told Hamm:
For the complete text, see [1] (http://www.fig-gymnastics.com/cache/html/9124-8151-10001.html). The USOC, enraged by the request, refused to deliver the letter, and issued a statement of its own, saying in part,
In the letter, the USOC also noted that the IOC and its president, Jacques Rogge, opposed FIG's efforts to pressure Hamm in this manner, in direct contradiction to an implication made in the FIG's letter. For the complete text of the USOC's response, see [2] (http://www.usa-gymnasticsolympics.com/2004/news/releases/aug27usoc.html). Yang then filed an official appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking to be elevated to the gold-medal spot at Hamm's expense. On September 27, 2004, Hamm appeared before the court in Lausanne, Switzerland and the session lasted 11.5 hours. The decision by a three-judge panel from CAS, announced on October 21, is that the current standings from the Olympics will remain and Paul Hamm will get to keep his gold medal. The verdict is final and cannot be appealed. (See [3] (http://www.tas-cas.org/en/pdf/yang.pdf) for the complete text of the decision.) Effects of controversy
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Categories: 1982 births | American gymnasts | Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics |
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