Gymnast cheated her way to Paris 2024: Judge thwarted Olympic debut of 15-year-old athlete; 'They hurt me'

A judge who manipulated results , a gymnast who obtained an Olympic qualification that she did not deserve at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games , a federation that looked the other way... and a sanction that comes late and does not repair any damage.

These are the ingredients of a case that calls into question the cleanliness of the scoring system in rhythmic gymnastics and which has been closed for the moment with a four-year ban for the Cypriot judge Evangelia Trikomiti and a fine of 8 thousand euros for the European Gymnastics Federation (UEG), although the decision can be appealed.

In this sport, the Mexicans Dalia Alcocer, Ana Flores, Julia Gutiérrez, Kimberly Salazar and Adirem Tejeda participated in the team category; while the gymnast involved in the trap to qualify competed in the individual category.

According to the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF), a body created by the International Federation (FIG) but which operates independently, Trikomiti committed “one of the most serious violations” of the rules of gymnastics: “She manipulated the competition by interfering in the scores to ensure that 'her' athlete, the athlete from Cyprus , obtained an Olympic place.”

The aggravating factor is that the Cypriot is the president of the UEG Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee and, as such, a member of the Executive Committee of the continental federation. In other words, the highest European authority in rhythmic gymnastics . To this day, the UEG maintains her in its organizational chart with an asterisk stating that “she is not currently occupying her position.”

The events took place at the 2024 European Championships in Budapest, where the last place for Paris 2024 was at stake. Three gymnasts were competing for it: the Polish Liliana Lewinska , the Greek Panagiota Lytra and the Cypriot Vera Tugolukova .

According to the official results of the competition, Tugolukova was the best among them , ahead of Lewinka. At that competition, Trikomiti acted as the president of the Superior Jury, responsible for reviewing the scores awarded by the judges and even having the power to block them.

According to the investigation, in the pelota exercise, for example, the Cypriot blocked all the scores and intervened so that they favoured Tugolukova and disadvantaged Lewinska . When some judges refused to change their original scores, Trikomiti instructed those responsible for recording the scores electronically to obey her orders.

Two judges accused Trikomiti of manipulating the results , and at least three others spoke of “irregularities.”

The findings of the investigation, however obvious they may seem, can no longer alter the results of those championships . But at least the international federation re-evaluated the gymnasts' exercises to see what would have happened and admitted that, without Trikomiti's intervention, the Olympic place would have gone to Liliana Lewinska .

Sad consolation for the Polish athlete, European vice-champion in clubs, who could have made her Olympic debut at just 15 years old . After the events in Budapest, Lewinska expressed on her social networks her immense “pain” at not being in the group of those who qualified for the Games, “ a place where I know I belong ”:

“Not being there hurts more than I can explain. Especially since I know my place. But this is done. From this pain, I will build an even better me. For you, for me, and for those who hurt me . Because that is who I am, that is who I have always been. And in four years, I give you my word, I will come to the City of Angels to make my dreams come true.”

Meanwhile, Tugolukova finished sixteenth in the qualifying round for Paris 2024 and did not make it to the final .

The GEF appointed a panel to examine the facts and hear the parties. Although the Foundation requested a six-year ban for Trikomiti, as well as the withdrawal of her refereeing and coaching licenses , the panel ultimately left the suspension at four years and the annulment of her refereeing license, considering that the behavior under investigation had nothing to do with the Cypriot's role as coach.

As for the UEG, according to the FIG Disciplinary Code, it must be considered “responsible” for the infringement committed by its representative and will therefore pay a fine of 8 thousand euros (the GEF was asking for 10 thousand) to cover the cost of the investigations.

The sanctions come more than eight months after the European Championships and six months after the Paris Olympic Games .

The parties were given 21 days to appeal, after making a provision of funds of 5,000 Swiss francs (about 5,300 euros).