S. Korea still after Gold
ByReuters
Published 26/08/2004 at 13:56 GMT
South Korea were still lobbying gymnastics and Olympics officials over the gold medal gymnast Yang Tae-young lost as a result of a judging mistake, the team said on Thursday. Yang missed out on Gold by 0.049 points but the FIG acknowledged that a tenth of
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South Korean delegation chief Shin Bark-jae met Bruno Grandi, the head of the gymnastics' world governing body FIG, on Wednesday night to press the case for Yang's lost all-round gold medal.
"We met Mr Grandi last night, but I cannot discuss details of the meeting," said delegation official Yoo Jae-soon.
FIG acknowledged after a protest that Yang had been unfairly docked a tenth of a point from his parallel bars routine during the all-round final last week, which left American Paul Hamm claiming the title with 57.823 to Yang's third-place on 57.774.
Had Yang been credited with the correct difficulty score, the South Korean would have finished with a total of 57.874, 0.051 of a point ahead of Hamm.
The 24-year-old Yang, a devout Christian who thanked God when he received his bronze, stayed behind in Athens with his coach pending the outcome while his team mates flew home to Seoul.
"I had thought the matter would be wrapped up by August 25th, but there has been no simple conclusion," he told South Korean media on Thursday. "There are a lot of people I want to see at home, but I'm here alone and it's getting a bit boring."
In an interview with South Korea's Yonhap news agency, Yang talked of his biggest regret at Athens. "I made a few slight mistakes in the high bar and the floor exercise during the all-rounds that I could have prevented," he said.
Yang thanked South Korean fans at home who have mounted a strident internet campaign to support his gold medal quest.
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