Winter Olympics: China’s Su Yiming denied snowboard slopestyle gold by ‘glaring judging error’, BBC commentator says

China’s Su Yiming ultimately took silver in Monday’s snowboard slopestyle final, but it should have been gold after a “glaring judging error” according to a BBC commentator. British expert Ed Leigh pointed out that Canada’s Max Parrot grabbed his knee instead of his board – a key element of a jump – during his frontside 1440 in his second run, where he scored 90.96 points overall. “Double knee grab. Way overscored – like there’s an extra three points in that sector,” Leigh said during the BBC’s coverage of the final. “So then take that into [the] overall run as well. Max Parrot has 100 per cent overscored there. The judges have missed that one.” China got the rub in short track tonight, but here are the BBC commentators basically saying Su Yiming should have got gold in slopestyle. Meanwhile, snowboard community is going beserk over Max Parrot's knee grab (i.e. missed grab) getting such high marks to win gold. pic.twitter.com/0zHfgdcdWo — Mark Dreyer (@DreyerChina) February 7, 2022 “I mean, it’s controversial. We can’t shy away from it,” Leigh added. “There is a glaring judging error putting Max Parrot in gold.” Parrot received a score of 9.35 out of 10 for the sector where grabbed his knee to keep his body and his feet together – a “cardinal sin”, according to Leigh – and would have scored a “6 or a 6.5” if the judges had spotted his mistake, which would have seen Su take gold. Gold medallist Eileen Gu jumps to defence of ‘really amazing’ Zhu Yi “Something like that should have cost Parrot two or three points,” Leigh told the BBC. “There were three points between bronze and gold – that would have totally upended the podium.” Su is unlikely to see his medal upgraded, given no written appeal was lodged by the former child actor within the required 15-minute window. Canadian Mark McMorris, who took his third Olympic bronze medal, did not lodge an appeal either. The 2018 champion, Red Gerard of the US, would have finished third had Parrot been penalised. Gerard led after the first run, but was denied a spot on the podium after McMorris’ final attempt. “The judges have put execution at such a premium. So the gold has gone wrong there,” Leigh later wrote in his analysis on BBC Sport’s website. “I watched the flower ceremony afterwards – Max wasn’t celebrating heavily and Mark McMorris had a face like thunder. I think Su Yiming actually took the gold there. This is a mistake on the judges’ part. “There’s a lot of pressure under the time constraints of the Olympic competitions to get a score out really quickly – I don’t think they used the replays. “I spoke to one of the judges and he said they are distraught, and they have been excellent up to this point. But this is a big one, a really big one.” 2018: Diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma 2022: Wins gold at the Olympic Games 🇨🇦 Max Parrot is an inspiration 🙌🏂#Beijing2022 | @MaxParrot pic.twitter.com/rYyLTtdl9Z — Eurosport (@eurosport) February 7, 2022 Chinese social media was also in uproar over the controversy, with Su’s silver medal the No 1 trending topic on the Twitter-like Weibo platform, where netizens believed Su was also given a low score by judges. “It’s such a smooth ride. Why didn’t Su get an 80 plus? I don’t understand,” a user said in a comment, which one of the top-rated on the site. “I am speechless. It was just a perfect run,” said another. “Congratulations to Su Yiming,” one user wrote. “You are the champion. You are the best. We did it fairly. No regrets!” Controversy aside, the victory was an emotional one for Pyeongchang 2018 silver medallist Parrot, who was diagnosed with cancer just over three years ago. “So much went by in those last four years,” Parrot told BBC Sport. “The last time I was at the Olympics, in Pyeongchang, I got a silver medal, and then I had to go through cancer. It was a nightmare – it’s so hard to describe what I’ve been through. “You have no cardio, you have no energy, you have no muscles. To be back out here, at the Olympics, on a podium again but with a gold medal, it feels amazing.” Su also took the controversial finish in good spirits. “To be able to take part in the Winter Olympics in my home country, to be able to compete with my childhood idol and stand with them on the podium, this is a very precious moment in my life,” Su told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. “To me, this is very special.”

Winter Olympics: China’s Su Yiming denied snowboard slopestyle gold by ‘glaring judging error’, BBC commentator says

Silver medallist Su should have topped Beijing 2022 podium after Max Parrot commits ‘cardinal sin’ with knee grab ‘I spoke to one of the judges and they are distraught … this is a big one, a really big one,’ BBC expert Ed Leigh says

Silver medallist Su should have topped Beijing 2022 podium after Max Parrot commits ‘cardinal sin’ with knee grab

‘I spoke to one of the judges and they are distraught … this is a big one, a really big one,’ BBC expert Ed Leigh says