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Nemov to be awarded symbolic gold: Russian chief
Gymnast Alexei Nemov, who was controversially marked down at Athens, will be awarded a symbolic gold medal, Russia's Olympic chief said.
Gymnast Alexei Nemov, who was controversially marked down at last month's Athens Olympics, will be awarded a symbolic gold medal, Russia's Olympic chief said on Wednesday.
The men's gymnastics competition came to a complete halt during the horizontal bar final as the angry crowd jeered the judges for almost 10 minutes, demanding they change the score given to four-times Olympics champion Nemov.
The Russian, a 12-times Olympic medallist, had wowed the crowd with six release and catch manoeuvres but was only awarded 9.725 for his routine and failed to make the podium.
"People power" forced the judges to modify the score to 9.762, but it still kept 28-year-old Nemov out of the medals.
"We believe Alexei Nemov is a true champion in any sense of the word and that is why he will be awarded a symbolic gold medal by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC)," ROC president Leonid Tyagachyov told a news conference in Moscow.
"Biased judges robbed him of a medal but the people's reaction showed who was the real champion that night and that is why we must honour him just like we do any other Olympic champion."
Tyagachyov said that Nemov will also get a $40,000 bonus from the ROC.
Russia's Olympic champions will receive a $50,000 bonus from the government, while silver and bronze medallists will get $20,000 and $10,000 respectively.
Nemov said he was really overwhelmed by the sympathy of the audience at Athens' Olympic Indoor Hall.
"Their reaction meant much more to me than any Olympic medal I had won in the past," he said recently.
Several leading gymnasts called for a complete overhaul of the judging process following the Nemov controversy.
Tyagachyov said he wrote to Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, demanding major changes in the sport.
