Precedent Set for 2nd Gold

There is precedent for awarding a second gold medal in an Olympic event. But the circumstances are very different from those at issue now.

Months after the conclusion of the 1992 Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona, the International Olympic Committee awarded a gold medal to Sylvie Frechette, a Canadian synchronized swimmer who they determined was the victim of a judging error.

The decision came because a Brazilian judge said she was not allowed to correct an 8.7 score--intended to be a 9.7--after she entered it into her computer. The intended score would have given Frechette the gold.

The IOC’s decision did not affect Kristen Babb-Sprague of the United States, who was the winner. She kept her gold medal.

Alan Abrahamson