GYMNASTICS: FIG boss Watanabe describes Olympic medal incident between Chiles and Barbosu as a “tragedy that must never be repeated again”

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“This tragedy must never happen again.”

The President of the International Gymnastics Federation – known as FIG after its French initials – of Japan Morinari Watanabecommented on the procedural, technical and scoring errors that led to a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that Romania’s Ana Barbosu third and American Jordanian chilis Fifth in the women's Olympic floor gymnastics at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Write in the just published FIG Bulletin No. 265Watanabe commented:

“First of all, I would like to congratulate the organizers of Paris 2024, which is now one of the greatest Olympic Games in history. I would like to thank all the gymnasts and their national federations who have produced such wonderful gymnasts for the wonderful competitions and the dramas they have created. I would also like to thank France, the City of Paris, the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, the French Olympic Committee, the French Gymnastics Federation and the volunteers for hosting the Olympic Games. …

“Finally, I would like to mention the tragedy that occurred in the women's floor exercise final. This tragedy must never be repeated. Since I became FIG President, I have been committed to the use of technology in scoring. Unfortunately, this tragedy has happened.

“The use of technology in sport is now taken for granted and the FIG used to be a pioneer in introducing technology to all international federations. But now we are no longer a pioneer. This is because our traditions prevent us from breaking down our own prejudices. We need change. We need challenges. And we need the courage to move forward. It was the lack of courage to take that step forward that led to the tragedy in Paris.

“What can we do to prevent such a tragedy from happening again? It is up to us to have the courage to change.”

That is little consolation for Chiles, who finished fifth in the competition while he appeals the CAS decision to the Swiss Federal Court, where there is a possibility that the case could be referred back to a new CAS panel for re-examination.

Watanabe also praised the spread of gymnastics, as shown by the distribution of medals in 20 countries in the disciplines of artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline:

“If you look at the Olympic landscape, people have probably noticed. The athletes have changed a lot. Simone Biles from the USA has overcome a setback and dominates the sport. Carlos Yulo from the Philippines won two gold medals. Colombia, Ireland, Algeria and Kazakhstan won their countries' first Olympic medals in gymnastics.

In the past, only a few countries won medals. But today, many countries can win medals. Why is that? When Zhang Boheng [CHN]showed in the men’s team final on the horizontal bar, his rival Hashimoto-Daiki of Japan asked the crowd to be quiet. This is what the world of gymnastics looks like today. We respect our opponents as much as we respect ourselves and help each other. This is what the world of gymnastics is like today. And I hope it will be like this in the future.”

Watanabe also spoke about the fight against abuse and gender participation:

“Throughout its history, gymnastics has had a dark past in which athletes were bullied. In light of this dark past, the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation was founded and a system was created to protect gymnasts.

“With the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation we have faced reality. The reality is that harassment still exists. The Gymnastics Ethics Foundation aims to improve the situation by acting as a court for gymnastics and imposing sanctions. At the same time, the Safeguarding Working Group was set up within the FIG organization as a department to train coaches.

“The '10 Golden Rules' established by the working group have become a model for all international federations. My goal is 'zero harassment' in gymnastics. The goal is still a long way off, but we are certainly making progress.

“As for gender equality, we have examined the actual situation and have demonstrated gender equality in the Composition of officials in the FIG and its member federations. In many cases, gender equality is neglected in the composition of officials in national federations. We will continue to promote gender equality activities in every country and region.”

Watanabe did not address gymnastics' continued lag in revenues behind the other top-tier federations with Olympic television participation, World Aquatics and World Athletics. Surprisingly, the FIG maintains its policy of not paying out prize money even at its own world championships.

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