Ana Maria Bărbosu received the bronze medal won on floor at the Olympic Games, in a special ceremony held in Bucharest. The gymnast was promoted to 3rd place following an appeal filed by the Romanian officials at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The medal received belatedly by Ana Maria Bărbosu. COSR photo
The medal was handed to him by Octavian Morariu, member of the International Olympic Committee for Romania, while the official mascot and poster were given to him by Mihai Covaliu, president of COSR. Marcel Ciolacu, the Prime Minister of Romania, also participated in the event. Just an hour before, Ana Maria Bărbosu was also present at the event organized by Ion Țiriac, after which she received an electric car worth 50,000 euros.
“Thank you for coming to today this ceremony. It’s an emotional moment for me. Hearing our Olympic champions, I didn’t realize how heavy this medal is. Thanks to everyone who added some tan. The result comes after many years of work. Thanks to all the coaches I had.
The Americans announce that they are not giving up
The resolution of the case was possible thanks to the Federation, but also to the Bar Association, they did not give up on us. They fought for us and are still fighting. I hope to continue representing Romania at the highest level and bring as many medals as possible”, said Ana Maria Bărbosu, according to gsp.ro. She also received a bouquet of flowers from Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.
Ana Maria Bărbosu, 3rd place on floor at the Olympic Games. COSR photo
“Today only one thing happened: justice was done. (…) Well done, Ana Maria! An even brighter medal in Los Angeles.” said Octavian Morariu, member of the International Olympic Committee for Romania.
But Ana Maria Bărbosu still has emotions about the medal. USA Gymnastics said in a statement that it will continue its efforts to have Jordan Chiles regain possession of the controversial medal.
