Jordyn Wieber’s Elimination from the Individual All-around Draws Controversy to Olympic Policy at the London Olympics

When Jordyn Wieber was eliminated from the upcoming Olympic gymnastics all-around competition scheduled for Tuesday, her coach and others voiced their dismay over current Olympic policy – calling it an injustice.

During the preliminary team competitions during the women’s gymnastics competition, Jordyn Wieber had been edged out of the top two spots by her teammates Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas. The two performed superbly during competition as did Wieber, the defending world champion.

Current Olympic policy only allows the top 2 competitors from each country to take part in the individual all-around competition. While the rule is not new, what many term an injustice stems from the fact that the rule can block top competitors from taking part simply because they are part of a very strong team.

“We have always known the 2 per country rule, we are not crying of spilt milk, yet it makes it difficult to explain how the 4th best AA finisher, the former world champion, does not get a shot at fulfilling her dream, just because her country happens to be incredibly strong,” wrote Wieber’s coach John Geddert on Facebook. “The sting of this injustice is painful and for the record I have voiced this opinion time and time again …. To penalize an athlete or country for being OUTSTANDING is not in the spirit of sport and certainly not the spirit of the Olympic Games.”

While Wieber is reportedly devastated by the elimination, her team needs her to pull it together for the team finals on Tuesday. Jordyn still has an opportunity for an Olympic medal, possibly even gold, if her team can win the team competition for the first time in 16 years.