Originally appeared on E! Online
Ana Barbosu is sending a message to her supporters.
The Romanian gymnast reflected on her experience competing at the 2024 Olympics, where she momentarily earned the bronze medal in floor but was bumped to fourth after Team USA star Jordan Chiles' routine was reevaluated.
In her Aug. 5 Instagram Stories, Barbosu shared a video of herself during the women's gymnastics floor final and wrote, "Thank you to everyone who encouraged me before, during, and after the competition."
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She also reposted a Stories from retired Olympian Sandra Izbasa-Bianca, who praised the hard work put in by the country's gymnastics team.
"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!"
During the floor final, Barbosu ended the competition with a 13.700, which first earned her bronze. However, a score inquiry was entered for Chiles' routine, which was upped to 13.766 after the initial score — 13.600 — didn’t include her tour jeté full, which she added at the last minute.
When the momentous change occurred, Barbosu, 18, was waving the Romanian flag before looking back at the scoreboard to see that she wouldn’t be on the winners’ podium with gold winner Rebeca Andrade and silver winner Simone Biles, leading her to walk off, sobbing while being comforted by one of her coaches.
Laurie Hernandez — who provides commentary for NBC and Peacock's Paris Olympics coverage on the U.S. women's gymnastics team finals — shared that it’s not uncommon for athletes to request a 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.”
When Chiles received her new score, she was seen crying over the news, later telling reporters, “I just wanted to come out and do the best I could… I have no words — I’m just very proud of myself.”
Following their wins, Biles and Chiles couldn’t help but bow towards Andrade at the podium. And Biles gushed over the Brazilian gymnast, telling cameras afterward, "I have such respect for her; she's such a good competitor."
