Tuesday, October 26, 2004
He didn't like how U.S. officials handled his disputed gold medal.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Gymnast Paul Hamm gets to keep his Olympic medal, but it hasn't been all golden.
The controversy exposed lingering ill will between Hamm, the U.S. team's top gymnast, and USA Gymnastics, the sport's international federation (FIG) and the U.S. Olympic Committee.
"This matter is completely behind us," said USOC interim chief Jim Scherr, when the court's decision was announced last week.
Not quite. Hamm is still irked over how USAG and the USOC handled the matter in the days immediately after the Olympic competition, when he perceived the USOC to be negotiating -- without contacting him -- with the South Korea federation for dual golds to be awarded.
Distractions avoided
The USOC said it did not want to distract Hamm because he was competing in individual apparatus competitions, and said it had been assured USAG would communicate with Hamm.
Scherr has, on at least three occasions, acknowledged the USOC came late to the party. But it rallied soon after, supporting Hamm publicly and spending an estimated $300,000 in legal fees and expenses to defend the medal.
"This whole incident has really given us a lot to think about in terms of how we deal with the athletes that comprise the U.S. Olympic team," Scherr said. "If we had this to do over again, we would have communicated with Paul directly earlier in the process. We believe USA Gymnastics was well-intentioned, as was the USOC, in defense of Paul's medal. In hindsight there are many things both of us could have done to help ease the situation for Paul."
Hamm's bigger beef is with USA Gymnastics. Added to the mix is the fact that before the Games, Hamm spurned USAG's post-Olympic T.J. Maxx tour for a competing tour. Between the medal and this, it's a recipe for a feud that won't disappear soon.
"I definitely think there could have been more done on their part to help make this situation a little bit easier for me," Hamm said. "There was very little communication in general when I was at the Olympic Games.
"They're not here today with us, and it would be nice if they were just a little bit more supportive."
Hamm said he has written a letter to the board of USA Gymnastics expressing his complaints.
Hamm hopes, probably futilely, for an apology from the international federation, which sent a letter in the week after the Aug. 18 event, trying to pressure him into giving up his medal to the "true winner" Korea's Yang Tae Young.