Poor girl, she seemed very happy, she deserved to win. Simona Amanar gave her the Gold medal back when they returned to Romania. Everyone knows that Raducan was the real winner.
in my opinion - gymnastics is such a sport in which a chemical, taken a couple of days before you compete, cannot suddenly make you perfect. you either have skills, technique, concentration and desire required to win or you don't. gymnasts work hard from an early age, so did Andreea. one little chemical cannot replace years and years of hard and dedicated work. that medal is and always will be Andreea's.
I don't understand why a cold pill would've been considered a banned substance in the first place. A cold pill isn't a steroid...it won't make you stronger, faster, etc. Such a sad occurrence for this gymnast.
Give Andreea back her medal. And as great as it was that Romania was on top back in 2000 with team and AA, sorry to say I don't see them winning either again. Third is the best they can do now. Still great to look back at their performances.
Andreea Raducan, you will be always my gold medal. Your performance was perfect, so much poetry in your moves... like life really matters and is full of meaning
such a devastating story. she's the sweetest young woman. At least everyone knows she was truly the best that day, no matter what the "official" results say
At least the world knows who really won the gold medal in 2000. Anyone who has the smallest inkling of fairness knows that Andreea Raducan was the worlds top gymnast in 2000, and she won the Olympic gold fair and square. What happened afterwards was a mistake on behalf of the Olympic committee not the athlete. It's sad when politics get in the way of sports and its sadder when the Olympic committee displays a lack of sportsmanship when it comes to rewarding the rightful winner: Andreea Raducan
I wonder if Andrea asked that medal from Simona .But if Simona decided to do it herself it was a very gentle gessture especially if it's a golden Olympic medal.
I agree with you 100%! It was the most devastating AA at a Games that I had ever witnessed. I cannot recall but I think even cried a little. I am old and I can remember clearly back to Nadia in 1976-and vaguely back to Olga in 1972. 2000 was a nightmare by far the worst in gymnastics history for me anyway. Andreea was the gymnast that I had wanted to win anyway but the vault fiasco had already left me with a sick heart. The Romanian sweep brought some of the joy back but it was painfully brief.
GymFloozie, I couldn't have said it better myself. The 2000 Women's All-Around was a damned fiasco from the get-go! So many of the competitors kept falling (including two of the Russians). The Romanian Sweep was, in MY opinion, the brightest spot of that night and the damn commitee ruined THAT!
Her medal should be returned to her. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought they unbanned the substance by the 2004 olympic? If they unbanned a substance in the Olympics four years after the 2000 games, then she should get the medal back. Besides, it's not like it was her decision to take it. It was the doctor's decision. Did anything ever happen to the doctor because of this? I feel sorry for her. I would've been peeved as hell if I was in a similar situation
I am sure there if footage of Nadia commenting on the fiasco somewhere but I seem to recall she felt Andreea was being treated very unfairly. She was at the press conference to stand by Raducan.
They changed it over 50 years later for Jim Thorpe who was stripped of his gold medals for competing as a semi-pro at other events. True, Jim was deceased by then but the IOC gave his children duplicate gold medals, and his name was restored in the record books as 1912 Olympic Decathlon and Pentathlon Champion. This was done after the IOC finally permitted professionals into the Games. So you see things can and do change-it was a new IOC membership though-1912 officials were dead or retired.
actually I think a comeback is coming seeing as octavian bellu and mariana bitang have the entire quad to improve the team, whoever it is comprised of... they were not with the 2008 team and only had about 2 years with the 2012 team... never count out the Romanians
It's clear that the IOC wants to "save face" and not admit that they were wrong in stripping Andreea of the title. I believe that eventually, Andreea will get her medal back, once enough time has passed that new committee members can see the situation clearly and without pride. The problem then becomes will they have to strip Liu Xuan of the bronze, or let her keep it and have Maria Olaru as co-bronze medallist?
She actually wrote a book about this, called The Reverse Side of the Medal (I believe), it comes out in America this month, I believe it is out in Romania already (they have to translate it be4 they sell in America)
This is the games that brought about the 2 pet country rule. Ok, I get that it was illegal substance at the time, which is who she was stripped of her medal and cannot give it back, BUT some sort of acknowledgment should be made to her. Pseudophedrine is used to make "math", which I'm certain was not the case. It makes one tired, not giving more energy. I have always felt awful for her. I respect Simona Amanar for refusing the medal. But this was a little girl, now a woman, AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SUBSTANCE IS NO LONGER BANNED NEXT TO HER NAME
Nurofen !! It's totally shit that they took the medal away! Didn't Simona give it back to her?????????????????????? I heard Simona gave the gold medal back to her???
it's very disappointing, you train your whole life for this, and it gets taken away. Everyone knows it didn't help her compete. So they are all full of horse shit. She may technically not be the rightful AA winner, but she is to her country, her team/coach, and me IT LEAST SHE STILL HAS THE TEAM MEDAL THOUGH! :)
@tmwalkerm Heei! She didn't take an illegal substance how you like to say!Team doctor gave her a cold pill.Make difference!To can do what she did in competition needs many years hard work.She start to train at 4 years age,her childhood was only gimnastic.She worked very hard to make performance.She demonstrate before Olympics and after she is one of the BEST GIMNAST in the World!She won many titles,anyway cold pill not help to make performance!
Simona gave it to her freely - actually if I remember right Simona was going to refuse to take the gold medal at all as she wanted Andrea to have it but the IOC would either give it to her (Simona) or just keep it and the coaches told her to 'bring the gold home to Romania'
I feel bad for her but the substance was banned. There is nothing more to it. They put these rules in place for a reason and if someone breaks the rules there must be consequences. Taking away her gold medal was harsh but at the moment I can't think of another consequence.
The same thing happened to Geversio Defer when he was caught with Marijuana in his system they took his world silver medal away. Rules are rules and that was in place at the time! NEXT!
Your comparing apples and oranges. She was prescribed the medicine by a trusted doctor because she wasn't feeling well. He was smoking pot for fun (obviously knowing the rules) and foolishly got himself caught. I can't believe you can't understand the difference.
The Olympic games are so commercialized and have completely lost sight of their real purpose. This girl deserved the Gold. Awesome talent!
Poor girl, she seemed very happy, she deserved to win. Simona Amanar gave her the Gold medal back when they returned to Romania.
Everyone knows that Raducan was the real winner.
The Olympics in sydney is like the darkest hour of gymnastics...what a train wreck. It's as if people died it went so badly...
in my opinion - gymnastics is such a sport in which a chemical, taken a couple of days before you compete, cannot suddenly make you perfect. you either have skills, technique, concentration and desire required to win or you don't.
gymnasts work hard from an early age, so did Andreea. one little chemical cannot replace years and years of hard and dedicated work.
that medal is and always will be Andreea's.
I don't understand why a cold pill would've been considered a banned substance in the first place. A cold pill isn't a steroid...it won't make you stronger, faster, etc. Such a sad occurrence for this gymnast.
Give Andreea back her medal. And as great as it was that Romania was on top back in 2000 with team and AA, sorry to say I don't see them winning either again. Third is the best they can do now. Still great to look back at their performances.
Andreea Raducan, you will be always my gold medal. Your performance was perfect, so much poetry in your moves... like life really matters and is full of meaning
The 2000 Olympics were probably the worst year ever for Olympic gymnastics.
such a devastating story. she's the sweetest young woman. At least everyone knows she was truly the best that day, no matter what the "official" results say
At least the world knows who really won the gold medal in 2000. Anyone who has the smallest inkling of fairness knows that Andreea Raducan was the worlds top gymnast in 2000, and she won the Olympic gold fair and square. What happened afterwards was a mistake on behalf of the Olympic committee not the athlete. It's sad when politics get in the way of sports and its sadder when the Olympic committee displays a lack of sportsmanship when it comes to rewarding the rightful winner: Andreea Raducan
Give it back!
I wonder if Andrea asked that medal from Simona .But if Simona decided to do it herself it was a very gentle gessture especially if it's a golden Olympic medal.
I agree with you 100%! It was the most devastating AA at a Games that I had ever witnessed. I cannot recall but I think even cried a little. I am old and I can remember clearly back to Nadia in 1976-and vaguely back to Olga in 1972. 2000 was a nightmare by far the worst in gymnastics history for me anyway. Andreea was the gymnast that I had wanted to win anyway but the vault fiasco had already left me with a sick heart. The Romanian sweep brought some of the joy back but it was painfully brief.
GymFloozie, I couldn't have said it better myself.
The 2000 Women's All-Around was a damned fiasco from the get-go! So many of the competitors kept falling (including two of the Russians). The Romanian Sweep was, in MY opinion, the brightest spot of that night and the damn commitee ruined THAT!
Her medal should be returned to her. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought they unbanned the substance by the 2004 olympic? If they unbanned a substance in the Olympics four years after the 2000 games, then she should get the medal back. Besides, it's not like it was her decision to take it. It was the doctor's decision. Did anything ever happen to the doctor because of this? I feel sorry for her. I would've been peeved as hell if I was in a similar situation
I am sure there if footage of Nadia commenting on the fiasco somewhere but I seem to recall she felt Andreea was being treated very unfairly. She was at the press conference to stand by Raducan.
They changed it over 50 years later for Jim Thorpe who was stripped of his gold medals for competing as a semi-pro at other events. True, Jim was deceased by then but the IOC gave his children duplicate gold medals, and his name was restored in the record books as 1912 Olympic Decathlon and Pentathlon Champion. This was done after the IOC finally permitted professionals into the Games. So you see things can and do change-it was a new IOC membership though-1912 officials were dead or retired.
actually I think a comeback is coming seeing as octavian bellu and mariana bitang have the entire quad to improve the team, whoever it is comprised of... they were not with the 2008 team and only had about 2 years with the 2012 team... never count out the Romanians
It's clear that the IOC wants to "save face" and not admit that they were wrong in stripping Andreea of the title. I believe that eventually, Andreea will get her medal back, once enough time has passed that new committee members can see the situation clearly and without pride. The problem then becomes will they have to strip Liu Xuan of the bronze, or let her keep it and have Maria Olaru as co-bronze medallist?
The medicene that she took isn't banned anymore! She should get her medal back!
She actually wrote a book about this, called The Reverse Side of the Medal (I believe), it comes out in America this month, I believe it is out in Romania already (they have to translate it be4 they sell in America)
Perfectiune,mai mult de atat nici ca se putea,bravo fetelor!
Amanar (silver medalist) gave Andreea the gold medal.
She's interviewing Andreea-and that's Nadia translating for her. Is that what you meant? :)
This is the games that brought about the 2 pet country rule. Ok, I get that it was illegal substance at the time, which is who she was stripped of her medal and cannot give it back, BUT some sort of acknowledgment should be made to her. Pseudophedrine is used to make "math", which I'm certain was not the case. It makes one tired, not giving more energy. I have always felt awful for her. I respect Simona Amanar for refusing the medal. But this was a little girl, now a woman, AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SUBSTANCE IS NO LONGER BANNED NEXT TO HER NAME
The substance was banned. She needed a time-out for 16 minutes (1 min per year).
If only she had not been told before the floor final, she could've medalled!
Nurofen !! It's totally shit that they took the medal away! Didn't Simona give it back to her??????????????????????
I heard Simona gave the gold medal back to her???
it's very disappointing, you train your whole life for this, and it gets taken away. Everyone knows it didn't help her compete. So they are all full of horse shit. She may technically not be the rightful AA winner, but she is to her country, her team/coach, and me
IT LEAST SHE STILL HAS THE TEAM MEDAL THOUGH! :)
Such a shame
Yes, I also heard that she did.
@tmwalkerm Heei! She didn't take an illegal substance how you like to say!Team doctor gave her a cold pill.Make difference!To can do what she did in competition needs many years hard work.She start to train at 4 years age,her childhood was only gimnastic.She worked very hard to make performance.She demonstrate before Olympics and after she is one of the BEST GIMNAST in the World!She won many titles,anyway cold pill not help to make performance!
r u really andreea radrucan
Simona gave it to her freely - actually if I remember right Simona was going to refuse to take the gold medal at all as she wanted Andrea to have it but the IOC would either give it to her (Simona) or just keep it and the coaches told her to 'bring the gold home to Romania'
make it or break it copied this too....they copied everything, even the kerri stug moment!
I feel bad for her but the substance was banned. There is nothing more to it. They put these rules in place for a reason and if someone breaks the rules there must be consequences. Taking away her gold medal was harsh but at the moment I can't think of another consequence.
The same thing happened to Geversio Defer when he was caught with Marijuana in his system they took his world silver medal away. Rules are rules and that was in place at the time! NEXT!
Your comparing apples and oranges. She was prescribed the medicine by a trusted doctor because she wasn't feeling well. He was smoking pot for fun (obviously knowing the rules) and foolishly got himself caught. I can't believe you can't understand the difference.
Give it back!