Floor Exercise, Women

The format was the same as it had been from 1984-96, with eight gymnasts advancing from the team all-around, but no more than two per nation. Svetlana Khorkina was likely the favorite, though not a prohibitive one. Her teammate, Yelena Zamolodchikova, was not known for her expertise on floor exercise but she came through for the gold medal, upsetting Khorkina, who won the silver. Romania’s Simona Amânar won the bronze medal, after having won a silver at Atlanta in 1996.

China’s Dong Fangxiao placed sixth in the final originally. However, when she entered for the 2008 Olympics, her date of birth was listed as 25 January 1986, which would have made her 14-years-old in 2000, and two years too young to compete. After an investigation in 2010 by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, she was declared ineligible in 2000, and her individual results were voided, which also disqualified the Chinese team that had initially won a bronze medal in the team event.