RED STAR NEWS
February 10, 2022
On February 7, the 17-year-old Su Yiming made history for China by winning the silver medal in the men’s snowboard slopestyle at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. It was also the second medal for China in the Games. But the penalty scale in the final round aroused heated discussions online, and there were voices questioning the scoring. According to the latest news, the head judge of snowboarding also admitted there was a mistake in judging.
Whitelines, a leading European snowboarding news, video and competition website, reported on February 8 that the head judge admitted that he had over-scored the Canadian winner Max Parrot. He stated that by the time they recognized the mistake, the score had already been submitted. The report immediately generated huge attention. If the story holds water, 3 points should have been deducted from Max’s score, Su Yiming would have won the gold medal.
Many netizens hope that Su Yiming will appeal to change the result. But objectively speaking, this may not be easy. According to the rules, an athlete can only appeal his own results, but not the results of others. It is extremely rare to take back the medal awarded at the Olympics unless the athlete involved is found to have taken banned drugs.
Moreover, the head judge made the statement in an interview, which is not a formal “post-competition review mechanism”. It is unclear whether his statement in the media will be accepted by the other judges and the organizing committee. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether such media expressions will eventually lead to a change in the results.
After the report was published, Su Yiming also liked the news on social media. Su’s mother also liked the news on her WeChat Moments with encouraging words for her son: “This is life. To be as strong as a warrior, you should always look ahead to the future. Su Yiming, go for it. You are the best!”
Evidently, this is a very generous response, showing sportsmanship of accepting both victory and defeat with grace. A few days ago, Su Yiming had already responded to the controversy, “No matter what, we all had a great time. Max did a great set of movements, and in this final, everyone is No. 1.” It can be seen that his attitude towards “accidents” and “regrets” in sports is consistent.
We can’t say “just let it go” on behalf of the athletes themselves, and it’s still hard to tell how this controversy will develop in the end. But in any case, this incident illustrates the “cruelty” of sports. After all, the Olympics is a human sports event. As long as it is human, there will inevitably be a variety of faults. Human is never all-powerful; there are always opportunities and moments that we cannot grasp.
Similar situations and controversies caused by the penalty are not unique in sports history. The most famous case is Maradona’s “Hand of God” in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. A clear handball foul, with photos, video and admissions, failed to reverse the outcome: the goal was valid, and Argentina eliminated England.
Such “cruelty” may lead to a result that we are unwilling to see. But as Su’s mother said, it’s all about “looking ahead.” Su is only 17 years old; he is still young and has endless potential. Regardless of the outcome of this case, we hope that he will adjust well and continue to break through, challenge his limits and write more stories about himself and China in the world of sports.
Liu Likun and Zhu Yan from Fudan University contributed to this article.
