Paul Hamm



         


Paul Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Washburn, Wisconsin) is a US gymnast. He became the first American man to win the all-round title at the world championships in Anaheim, California in 2003. He competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, alongside his twin brother Morgan, taking gold in the individual all-around competition, becoming the second American man in Olympic history to win the gold medal in that event.

After a disastrous fall on his dismount in the vault, which ended with him nearly falling into the judges' bench, he dropped to 12th place and he looked to be out of the running for a medal of any sort. However, numerous faults by the other gymnasts, combined with Hamm's performance on the parallel bars, returned him to fourth place after the fifth rotation. His high bar routine gained him a score of 9.837, slightly more of than the score he needed to win the gold medal. His scores on the six disciplines were:

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Controversy over gold

Almost immediately after the competition, Hamm's gold in the Men's all-around event was called into doubt due to a scoring issue.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) ruled that South Korean bronze medalist Yang Tae-young was unfairly docked a tenth of a point in the all-around final, costing him the gold medal. The 0.100 points deducted from Yang's start value in parallel bars—the difficulty of the routine—was the difference between third and first. The federation suspended three judges, but it said the results will not be changed.

Regardless of the issue above, the president of the FIG has stated that the results of the all-around final would not change, and that Paul Hamm would retain the gold medal.

When asked whether or not he still deserved the gold medal by a news reporter, Hamm replied that he "shouldn't even be dealing with this." He later went on to say, "I do understand and feel the disappointment that Yang Tae Young has been subjected to, and I hope he understands what I have been through as well."

The controversy over Hamm's gold became even more heated after FIG's president sent a letter to the United States Olympic Committee, addressed to Hamm, with directions to deliver the letter to Hamm. In relevant part, it told Hamm:

If, (according to you [sic] declarations to the press), you would return your medal to the Korean if the FIG requested it, then such an action would be recognised as the ultimate demonstration of Fair-play by the whole world. The FIG and the IOC would highly appreciate the magnitude of this gesture.

For the complete text, see .

The USOC, enraged by the request, refused to deliver the letter, and issued a statement of its own, saying in part,

The USOC views this letter as a blatant and inappropriate attempt on the part of FIG to once again shift responsibility for its own mistakes and instead pressure Mr. Hamm into resolving what has become an embarrassing situation for the Federation. The USOC finds this request to be improper, outrageous and so far beyond the bounds of what is acceptable that it refuses to transmit the letter to Mr. Hamm.

In the letter, the USOC also noted that the IOC and its president, Jacques Rogge, opposed FIG's efforts to pressure Hamm in this manner, in direct contradiction to an implication made in the FIG's letter.

For the complete text of the USOC's response, see .

Yang has since filed an official appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking to be elevated to the gold-medal spot at Hamm's expense. A court hearing is scheduled for September 27, 2004, in Lausanne, Switzerland, at which Paul Hamm will be present to testify and at which point the controversy is expected to be settled.

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Effects of controversy

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