Crowd makes judges rethink Nemov's score

ATHENS (Reuters) - Russia's Alexei Nemov has brought the Olympic men's gymnastics horizontal bar competition to a standstill after the crowd jeered and booed the judges for his score for nearly 10 minutes.


Italy's Igor Cassina beat defending champion Nemov and Paul Hamm of the United States to win the gold medal with a score of 9.812 on Monday. Hamm claimed the silver and Japan's Isao Yoneda took the bronze.


Nemov, a 12-times Olympic medallist, was only awarded 9.725 for his routine and failed to make the podium.


He had wowed the crowd with an amazing six release and catch manoeuvres but when the score flashed up, the Russian was left trailing in third place with seven more competitors to go.


All-round champion Hamm, the next competitor to go, was left standing by the bar as he waited for the crowd to calm down.


It was left to Nemov to try to restore order at the Olympic Indoor Hall.


The Russian waved to fans and gestured to them to allow the competition to continue.


His score was later amended to 9.762, which failed to take him into the medals.