The chairman of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR), Mihai Covaliu, sent, on Monday, a letter of protest to the International Gymnastics Federation, addressed directly to the president Morinari Watanabe, for reanalyzing the challenge of Sabrina Maneca-Voinea’s exercise in the floor final, at the Olympic Games inParis, according to a COSR press release.

„Respecting the Olympic values, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee forwards this address by which it respectfully requests you to order the reanalyze by the decision-making factors of the case of the Romanian athlete Sabrina Maneca-Voinea regarding the score given to the execution of the exercise in the floor final, contested on Monday, August 5, 2024. We are submitting this request based on the care that the International Olympic Committee and the entire world sports movement gives to the athlete,” the release states.

„The way of assessing the score awarded and the refusal to fully present the reasons/evidence for the rejection of the appeal filed within the deadline provided by the regulation brings serious damage both to the image of international gymnastics, but especially affects the athlete, even endangering her mental health. The media coverage of the case of the Romanian sportswoman at the international level, her public declaration to give up practicing this sport as a result of the decision morally obliges the decision-makers to reanalyze, substantiate and communicate the final decision. The balanced and objective policy that FIG promotes gives us confidence in the just solution of the presented case,” emphasized Mihai Covaliu.

COSR specifies that „Sabrina Voinea was deducted a tenth because she went into an acrobatic line with her heel outside the line. The video and photo images disprove this theory”.

Sabrina Maneca-Voinea appealed for the grade she received (13,700), but her appeal was rejected.

AGERPRES