Ana Barbosu, the Romanian gymnast, reflected on her experience at the 2024 Olympics, where she briefly held the bronze medal in floor exercise before being moved to fourth place after Team USA star Jordan Chiles’ routine was reevaluated.
On Aug. 5, Ana posted an Instagram Story featuring a video of herself during the women’s gymnastics floor final, expressing gratitude by writing, “Thank you to everyone who encouraged me before, during, and after the competition.”
She also shared a Story from retired Olympian Sandra Izbasa-Bianca, who commended the hard work of the country’s gymnastics team.
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“I hear more vividly than ever the words that the coaches repeated to us almost daily in the training room,” she wrote in Romanian. “‘You, as Romanians, must be more than perfect in order not to leave room for interpretations!’ And here, it proves itself once again! Girls, head up and back straight! Keep believing in your dreams! Go Romania!”
In the floor final, Ana finished with a score of 13.700, initially earning her the bronze medal. However, a score inquiry for Jordan’s routine increased her score to 13.766, up from the initial 13.600, which had not included her last-minute addition of the tour jeté full.
When this significant change happened, 18-year-old Ana was waving the Romanian flag before noticing on the scoreboard that she would not be on the winners’ podium with gold medalist Rebeca Andrade and silver medalist Simone Biles, causing her to walk off in tears while being consoled by one of her coaches.
Laurie Hernandez, who comments on NBC and Peacock’s coverage of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team finals, explained that it is not uncommon for athletes to request a score reevaluation.
“That’s why inquiries happen,” she said on the live stream. “Sometimes, they do miss it, and they’re able to go back and double check.”
