Competing in the 2025 World Gymnastics Championships, Leanne Wong looked sublime in all of her rotations. While she qualified as ninth following a fall on the vault, in the all-around final, the US gymnast was all focused. She hit all four of her routines perfectly as she topped things off with a Cheng, which helped her score a 14.466 to take pole position among her competitors. Surely, at this point, Wong and her fans must have thought that she was going to clinch the gold. Oh, how wrong they were!

As Wong anticipated her big breakthrough win, there was one more gymnast left in the final rotation. And she was none other than the Russian, Angelina Melnikova. She was participating as an authorized neutral athlete. Now, looking at her score, it did not seem likely that there was a chance for her to overtake Wong. Melnikova fell on the beam and had only managed to earn 13.100 in the qualifying round. Thus, she would have needed more than 13.366 to win. 

However, in the most unexpected turn of events, the judges’ scorecard flashed 13.466 after Melnikova’s routine. This meant that the Russian had won the all-around title, beating Wong by a margin of one-tenth. The entire arena seemed quite shocked. That is because during her routine, the gymnast seemed to have gotten her feet out of bounds. And that was not all, Melnikova also had several other mistakes which were bound to attract deductions. 

Following her victory, Melinkova was asked about what she had to say about the controversy. And surprisingly, she did admit that, according to her, she did not think that she won the all-around gold. “No [I did not think I had won], I had some mistakes on my turns, and that’s why I wondered what the score would be. Honestly, I thought I would be second,” said Melnikova. Surely, such a huge controversy soon escalated among the fans. And they could not help but lash out about the same online. 

Fans share their two cents after Angelina Melnikova got awarded with the all-around crown

As soon as the controversy went online, fans flocked to the comment section to express their point of view. One X user believed that there were discrepancies in the judgment provided.  They added, “I feel like even without the OOB she shouldn’t have won.” The fan further mentioned how they think that Melnikova was scored way more than she deserved. Explaining the grounds, they continued, “ She was slightly Overscored on vault, visibly Overscored on beam and she shouldn’t have received the highest E score on floor”.

Another gymnastics enthusiast also questioned the execution marks. They even praised Leanne Wong’s floor routine and shared their opinion regarding how they considered that Wong’s execution deserved more credit. They added, “I guess I just don’t understand Angelina’s e-score for this routine. You can maybe argue artistry but idk I felt like Leanne’s execution on floor was better and more controlled. This was the right three medalists imo but I’m unsure about first and second”.

Some also differed in their opinion as they believed that several fans could not agree with the judges’ decision to give Melnikova the win because they did not see their favourites take up the podium spot, One such netizen opined, “Funny to watch how the americans get mad when they dont win and start trying to desmoralize the competition”.

Another comment underlined visible errors in Melnikova’s routine, including balance issues and bent form. “In addition to that, AM shuffled on her last landing, hopped on the other two whereas. And how did she get such a score on beam with two VERY HUGE wobbles with legs and arms swinging and bent at the waist AND a fall? M is a really great gymnast but these scores seem out of line”, read their comment. By pointing out these mistakes, the fan implied that her beam score did not align with the deductions that such execution flaws should typically incur.

While another tried to find a justification behind why there ight be probable discrepancies in the judgment that made Angelina Melnikova secure the all-around title. “They don’t judge in slo-mo so they gave her the benefit of the doubt,” added the fan. Such a take might also hint at a demand to make judgments even stricter and clearer to avoid such debacles.

While another gymnastics fan spoke in favor of the Russian athlete, stating, “I don’t think she stepped out. If her heel didn’t touch the ground and her toes are in, she’s not out.” Thus, it is evident that the gymnastics realm is not on par with the judges’ decision. Now, it remains to be seen what happens next.