Day one of the Olympic gymnastics competition and already a potential judging brouhaha, if not a full-fledged scandal, has broken out.
Two Canadian men's team coaches both slammed the marks given their athletes in the all-important qualification round Saturday that determines which individuals and what teams move on.
While both Tony Smith and head coach Edouard Iarov suggested the fix was in, the most direct allegations came from Mr. Iarov, who pointed the finger at a official from FIG, the international gymnastics federation, and accused him of calling a judge during the actual competition in order to "push out Canada" and favor Spain.
Mr. Iarov said it was a repeat of what happened at the judging scandal at the Athens Olympics, where ultimately three officials were suspended, including a judge, for failing to mark competitors properly.
"It's not so good for sport, or for gymnastics, with judges making decisions not by result but according to some kind of game," Mr. Iarov said after the six-man Canadian team competed, and was still hanging onto hopes of making the next round -- sitting in sixth spot just ahead of Spain.
If Mr. Iarov was correct, the attempt didn't work: In the end, the Canadian men missed the cut for the team event by only one place — finishing in ninth, but they were still two ahead of the Spanish.
Only the top eight teams after qualifying move on, with only the top eight in individual events continuing, and the top 24 in the individual all-around category.
The only Canadians to move on are a pair of 23-year-old Calgarians, Adam Wong and Nathan Gafuik, who qualified in the all-around.
"I'm gonna get myself in a lot of trouble {with his remarks}," Mr. Smith told reporters, "but it's been like this forever. It hasn't changed: Countries have certain friends and friends help friends…I don't know what message was sent to the judges in between sessions, but I think we're a better team" than the marks indicated.
He said that where other sports, such as trampoline, insist upon so-called 'neutral country judges' whose athletes are not in the competition, in gymnastics "if you don't have an athlete here, you cannot have a judge here." And while athletes in the judged sports know what they're getting into, Mr. Smith said, such a small fix would go a long distance to addressing the problem. "Too easy for us, I think," he said cynically.
He was particularly disappointed in the scoring given Kyle Shewfelt's floor routine.
The Calgary native won gold in the event in Athens, and while he suffered a devastating injury in training last year — fractures in both knees — his remarkable 11-month comeback culminated with an accomplished performance Mr. Smith called "maybe not his best but damn close to it."
Mr. Shewfelt, who finished 11th in the floor routine, was tremulous and emotional after the competition, which could be his last Olympics. He said he doubted he will be in London as an athlete in 2012.
"I'm 26," he said with a grin. "I know I don't look it, but I'm 26: Your body starts to tell you."
He considered his performance "a huge victory on very many levels," he said.
"Eleven months ago I was given this challenge that seemed impossible and today I was out there competing in the Olympic Games, representing Canada, and being a part of an incredible team. I can only smile. I can only be proud of my efforts. I control only so much…I'm just gushing with happiness and joy and pride.
