He Wins 2008 Olympic Bars Final in a Tiebreaker
Liukin Gets a Silver with an Identical Score
Aug 18, 2008
In the women’s gymnastics uneven bars final in Beijing, the top three names were no surprise. What was strange was the fact that the top two scores – that of Kexin He of China and Nastia Liukin of the United States – were identical. Both women scored a 16.725, but in a second round of tie-breaking, He was declared the winner, putting an unhappy Nastia in second place.
How the Tiebreaker Gave He the Gold
The new scoring system has left many women’s gymnastics fans scratching their heads this Olympics. First it was some unexpected highs and lows in the all around competition, then Cheng Fei’s bronze medal in the vault final, despite a fall. But this is probably the strangest outcome so far.
Liukin made no mistake that she was hoping for gold on her best event. She has done it many times before. She went up against two other gymnasts with the same high start value of 7.7, but when she and He, the first two gymnasts to compete, both scored a 16.725, a tie was not allowed. The current rules require that the higher B-score be ranked first. If that is the same, as it was here, then the next-lowest B-score is dropped and an average of three judges taken. That put He in front. The scores held on through the night, and Liukin ended up with a silver medal.
In the past, Liukin and He would have been able to both wear the gold, but NBC Olympics reports that in 1997, IOC pressure forced gymnastics to implement a tie-breaking system. The FIG president was not happy about this change, nor is Nastia’s father, Valeri, who tied in an Olympic games, but this is the way it will work for the foreseeable future.
Battle for Bronze: Yang Earns Third Place Over Tweedle
One unexpected occurrence that did not get a lot of attention is the fact that British gymnast Beth Tweedle was credited with a 7.8 A-score, two tenths higher than her usual start value. However, the upgrade cost her in execution, and she finished fourth below Chinese gymnast Yilin Yang, who adds another bronze to her all-around medal.
Two other gymnasts expected to contend for the bronze medal ran into trouble and scored sixth and seventh. Russian Ksenia Semenova, who finished fourth all-around, managed only a 16.325 on this event, due in large part to her lower A-score. Steliana Nistor’s mistakes on bars knocked her A-score all the way down to seven, and she scored only a 15.575.
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