The gymnastics floor exercise finals just ended in Athens, and Mohini Bhardwaj finished 6th out of 8. The Romanians were dominant as always, winning gold and silver, with Spain taking the bronze. Bhardwaj’s teammates did well in their individual finals, winning gold in the all-around, silver and bronze on the uneven bars and silver on the vault.

The team silver medal is probably the end of Bhardwaj’s Olympics career, a graduation ceremony into the rest of life. The end of an intensely competitive tournament can be a relief, but also a huge letdown. Gymnast Kerry Strug, who several years ago became famous for landing a critical vault on an injured ankle, Karate Kid-style, now works in the Treasury Department’s general counsel office.

Update: There may have been judging error on the women’s floor exercise:

The judges have been evaluating Mohini Bhardwaj’s floor routine at a 9.7 start value throughout the competition. Tonight, I believe her coach filed an inquiry. The judges disagreed, and on appeal they still felt that the 9.7 was justified. Even with the 9.7 start value, though, I thought she was possibly evaluated too strictly as well… I think the last two events of the Olympic Games, women’s floor and men’s high bar, were judged abysmally.

Star Russian gymnast Aleksei Nemov certainly got screwed out of a medal on the men’s high bar. He had the flashiest routine, with six release and catch moves in a row and some spectacular high-altitude tumbling. The entire crowd booed for several minutes straight, pressuring the judges to up their score, but not enough to give him a medal.

Update 2: Bhardwaj may have been cheated of a bronze due to judging error, similar to what happened to Yang Tae-Young, who would have won gold in the all-around competition but for judges’ starting value error.

Without the move, her start value decreased. Bhardwaj’s take was this: “It was a leap connection after my second pass. If you don’t get it all the way around, you don’t get a bonus for it. I guess the judges didn’t catch it.” At Waller’s request, the start value judges viewed a replay. They said no dice. Bottom line: Had Bhardwaj been given the 9.9 value, she might have won the bronze medal (Spain’s Patricia Moreno was third with 9.487). Instead, she finished sixth at 9.312.

But, she didn’t make a big deal of it:

U.S. women’s gymnast Mohini Bhardwaj said judges miscalculated her start value on her floor routine, assigning her a 9.7 instead of a 9.9. U.S. officials protested, to no avail. A higher start value would have given Bhardwaj a 9.512, enough for a bronze medal behind winner Catalina Ponor of Romania (9.750). Instead, Bhardwaj finished sixth, and shrugged it off. “That’s the way the sport is,” Bhardwaj said.

Unsurprisingly, her mom agreed:

“I know that it is subjective, but I really do feel she should have been bringing home the bronze,” the gymnast’s mother, Indu Bhardwaj, said in a telephone interview with WLWT Monday night… “Believe me — in judging, this happens all the time,” she said. “I’ve seen it many times.” “

Indu Bhardwaj said her daughter will not protest the score, and added that Mohini Bhardwaj said she wants to remain gracious. The mother said regardless of the outcome, she’s proud of the young gymnast. “I feel that mohini was a very important part of that team, and without her, I don’t think they could have gotten the silver,” Indu Bhardwaj said.