Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Japan Wins Gymnastics Silver After Appeal

China takes gold; Britain forced to settle for bronze

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 30, 2012 2:13 PM CDT

(Newser) – China easily took the gold medal in the men's gymnastics final today, but who got silver was a matter of some controversy. When the event was first concluded, Britain stood at an astonishing second place, followed by the Ukraine. But Japan, sitting in fourth, launched an appeal, complaining that their pommel horse score was too low—and the judges ultimately agreed, bumping them all the way up to silver, the BBC reports.

Even a bronze medal represented a huge upset for Britain—before the event "nobody would talk in more than hushed tones of a bronze medal, let alone beating Japan," writes Ollie Williams of the BBC. But boos rained down on the Japanese as they accepted their medals anyway, the Guardian reports. The highly-touted US squad, incidentally, finished a disappointing fifth, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Japanese gymnast Kazuhito Tanaka slips while performing on the horizontal bar during the Artistic Gymnastics men's qualification at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 28, 2012, in London.
Japanese gymnast Kazuhito Tanaka slips while performing on the horizontal bar during the Artistic Gymnastics men's qualification at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 28, 2012, in London.   (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
6%
34%
11%
9%
1%
39%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 9 comments
SPHeroid
Jul 30, 2012 4:01 PM CDT
I have to wonder just what kind of "appeal" the Japanese presented....... On a scale of 1 to 10 the credibility of these judges just fell from a two to one......
hotdog
Jul 30, 2012 3:23 PM CDT
Surprised it wasn't the Americans crying.. :-P
Gart
Jul 30, 2012 2:55 PM CDT
I don't watch games decided by judges... don't consider them "sports".
 

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne