Criticism intensified that the awards ceremony of last year's gymnastics competition in Ireland did not award medals only to black athletes, and the Irish Gymnastics Association apologized to the athletes and their families in a statement on the 25th.
The Irish Gymnastics Association issued a statement on September 1 about the fact that at the women's awards ceremony for the men's and women's gymnastics competitions held in Dublin last year, only one black athlete skipped the order when the association's staff awarded medals to athletes in a row.
The statement follows criticism that the video of the awards ceremony went viral on social media and that it was "racist", and the Irish Gymnastics Association claimed in a statement that the athletes were given medals before leaving the venue, saying that "the staff stressed that it was not intentional".
In response, the mother of the skipped player criticized the athlete for not officially apologizing to the local media, and expressed concern that the video would become a target of further racial discrimination as it went viral.
In addition, Simone Biles, a black female gymnast from the United States who won four gold medals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, posted on social media that "racism should not be allowed in any sport."
In response to this situation, the Irish Gymnastics Association issued a statement on the 4th and apologized to the athletes and their families, saying, "We are doing everything in our power to prevent this from happening again."