Gymnast officials ask Hamm to give up gold medal

In a dispute over scores, the head of the Gymnastics Federation wrote a letter to Hamm that suggested giving the all-around gold medal to South Korea's Yang Tae-young.

Gymnastics officials asked American Paul Hamm to give up his gold medal as the ultimate show of sportsmanship, but the United States Olympic Committee told them to take responsibility for their own mistakes.

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In a dispute over scores that has turned into a political squabble, the head of the International Gymnastics Federation wrote a letter to Hamm last night that suggested giving the all-around gold medal to South Korea's Yang Tae-young "would be recognized as the ultimate demonstration of fair play by the whole world."

FIG president Bruno Grandi tried to have the letter sent to Hamm through the USOC, but the USOC refused to deliver it.

In a letter back to Grandi, USOC secretary general Jim Scherr called the request "a blatant and inappropriate attempt on the part of (FIG) to once again shift responsibility for its own mistakes and instead pressure Hamm into resolving what has become an embarrassing situation for your federation".

Yang, the bronze medalist, was wrongly docked a tenth of a point on his parallel bars routine. If he had received the proper score, he would have won gold and Hamm would have won silver. Three judges were suspended, and FIG said the results would stand.