The protest was focused specifically on Courtney’s second vault attempt, which GymSports NZ argued was unfairly marked down.
After the 17-year-old Christchurch gymnast completed her second vault, the score for that attempt, and then her average across both vault scores was shown.
“Approximately 20 minutes later, the second vault score was amended which consequently brought the average score down,” GymSports NZ CEO Tony Compier said.
Courtney is now 13th in vault after her appeal was upheld. Photo: Getty
Neither Courtney nor her coach, Mary Wright, were given any opportunity to challenge the scoring, a fact Mr Compier used as part of his appeal.
“We protested on two key points of the competition rules,” Mr Compier said.
“Firstly, that neither the coach nor the athlete were afforded the opportunity to challenge the down-grading of the score before it was changed. Secondly, the competition rules state that once a score is ‘published’, i.e. shown in the arena, it cannot be changed at a later date.”
Watch Courtney performing her floor routine in the video below. Story continues.
The 2016 Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Jury of Appeal at the Games has now upheld the appeal lodged on her behalf by GymSports NZ, bringing Courtney up into 13th place.
Before leaving for Rio, Courtney told Woman’s Day she had been aiming for a top 16 finish in the vault, which is her specialty.
“My motivation comes from setting massive goals – you can’t get much bigger than the Olympics!” she revealed.
