Romanian Prime Minister to boycott Paris Olympics closing ceremony – Here’s why

New Delhi: Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has announced that he will skip the Paris Olympics 2024 closing ceremony. The closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics will take place at Stade de France on August 11, Sunday.

What forced PM to take this decision

Ciolacu decided to skip the closing ceremony in protest of a controversial scoring decision in the women’s gymnastics floor final. Couple of days ago in the floor exercise, Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu initially scored the bronze medal and celebrated her win immensely. However, the decision was overturned when US coaches lodged an appeal regarding Jordan Chiles’ score.

A review took place which resulted in a 0.1 point increase for Chiles, elevating her to the bronze medal position and throwing Barbosu off the podium. Barbosu was left devastated upon seeing the revised scores and she was prompted to drop the Romanian flag, which she was proudly holding. Barbosu covered her face and walked away in tears as her dreams were shattered.

In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Ciolacu expressed outrage over the decision, saying that he has decided to quit the closing ceremony.

“I have decided not to attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics following the scandalous situation in gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonourable manner. To withdraw a medal earned through honest effort on the basis of an appeal is totally unacceptable,” he said.

Despite the outcome, Ciolacu vowed that Romania would still honour Barbosu and her teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who was moved from fourth to fifth place after the review, as Olympic medalists.

“An entire nation stands with you, recognising that your hard work and tears are more valuable than any medal, regardless of the metal it is made from,” Ciolacu wrote.

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 Romanian Prime Minister Ciolacu decided to skip the closing ceremony in protest of a controversial scoring decision in the women’s gymnastics floor final.  Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today