By A story that is really picking up steam is the controversy surrounding the gymnastics competition during the Olympics where an American Pual Hamm was awarded a gold medal over two South Koreans who won silver, & bronze (ESPN Article). However the bronze medalist Yang Tae-young was unfairly docked a tenth of point on one of his routines which the Korean coach knew of at the time and said nothing of it until after the competition was over. So now many Koreans are upset about this with speculation that the US is pressuring judges to give points to US athletes. These same accusations were made in the last winter Olympics when a Korean speed skater was disqualified and an American won the gold in the event.
When will people learn that Americans don’t care much about gymnastics and we really don’t care about speed skating; to make it worth our time to hatch a CIA conspiracy to rob Koreans of gold medals! A sport we do care about basketball, a lot of Americans are rooting against the team because we are sick of the overpaid unmotivated NBA players who are poorly representing our country in this competition. Please give me some college kids that will play hard, hit a mid range jump shot, and are playing for more than endorsement contracts. However, the judges in the current controversy have been suspended and many people in the media are demanding that Hamm give up his medal. I think Hamm should keep it because the Korean coach knew about the mistake when it happened and said nothing.
I compare it to somebody hitting a home run in baseball and the umpire calling it a foul ball just outside the foul pole and the baseball coach saying nothing to challenge it. Don’t complain later when you lose by one point. Same case in this current controversy. If the coach would of challenged it on the spot they would have gotten the point. Would it be classy of Hamm to give up the medal? It sure would and it would promote some much needed good press for the US. However, something like that won’t give him endorsement contracts. There is also talk of dual golds which at first appears to be a good compromise but if you are going to award Yang with a gold by reviewing a video tape for errors then the whole tape should be viewed, not just bits and pieces that are favorable to the athlete because apparently there is some evidence to suggest Yang should have been deducted some points during his performance that were not noticed.
But I really believe people should not be blaming Hamm or the CIA for fixing the competition when the blame should lie solely on the Korean coach. He is the one who blew the chance to challenge the call, but that would require him to accept responsibility which is something nobody wants to do.
2:53 am on December 24th, 2006 1
GI Korea,
Perhaps you should break down your commentary into more paragraphs? It would make it easier to read. But I do enjoy reading your blog.
2:54 am on December 24th, 2006 2
GI Korea, about the Paul Hamm controvery…
All the articles and news reports from State-side stated that the Korean coach did indeed file a protest but was told by the judging panel to file after the event (which was a mistake). Yes the team leaders should have been more vocal about their protest and should have known all the regulations better to make a valid appeal on the spot.
Paul Hamm did fall on his butt, onto the judge's table. And yet he received a relatively high score which seemed "unfair" to other athletes in the event. I cheered for him on his last routine on the high bar – which was impressive. I expected him to redeem himself with a bronze. But getting a gold? That seemed a little "fishy." That's probably where people get ideas about US Olympic favoritism.
If Paul Hamm was an athlete and a person of honor and dignity, he would have offered the Gold to the rightful winner of the competition. Even if it wasn't an officially sanctioned result change, had he made that kind of public gesture, he would have come out of this F-up by the FIG judges as a true winner. Instead he comes out of this controversy as a true Wiener. Unlike the great American Olympian athlete Michael Phelps. He gave up his share of glory for his teammate!
I just wanted to point out your misconception about the Korea coach situation. And with Paul clearly making himself out to be a immature brat (with his comments like he "deserved the gold medal"), he isn't going to land any notable endorsement contract like M Phelps. He was a winner on record, but he is not a good winner in spirit.
And the Korean team's protest isn't about the judging itself (which is very subjective – hence more accusation of favoritism etc.), but the miscalculated score which is a clear-cut mistake.
So I hope you reconsider your perspective on this situation. Not that it would change anything, but I like and appreciate your website. BTW, I think you are trying to spell "AJUMMA" – the thick faced women who cut you in line & "AJUSSI" – the men who drive on sidewalks and look at you crazy.
2:54 am on December 24th, 2006 3
I never claimed to be a gymnastics expert but if a US athlete was in the same situation as the Korean gymnast was, I would be angry at the coach more than the winning gymnast. Granted as time goes on Hamm is not handling the whole controversy very well now. He did say he would give the medal up if FIG asked him to and now he is refusing. That doesn't look good on him. His endorsement contracts are long gone now because of this prolonged controversy. It would still be a classy thing for him to do to give up the medal but I still don't think he should be forced to. I just hope a bunch of stupid protests don't break out over here because of this crap. I got my hands filled with Hongchongryun protestors, I don't need pissed off gymnastics fans to deal with too.
3:03 am on December 24th, 2006 4
"Ashima" and "odashi" are Korean words which only exist in the vocabulary of G.I.'s — who "teach" these words to each other through repetition. It's been one of my pet peeves since I served here from 1990-1993.
Break the cycle of ignorance! It's "ajumma" and "ajeosshi". Listen to how Koreans pronounce the word, then try to repeat it.