Horse Vault, 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. The 1999 World Champion was Russia’s Yelena Zamolodchikova but she placed only ninth in team qualifying, and was only the third Russian so she seemed not to be eligible for the medals. However, her teammate, Svetlana Khorkina had placed third but withdrew for the final, allowing Zamolodchikova to compete. She was third after the first vault but her second vault scored 9.750 which brought her the gold medal. Spain’s Esther Moya had led after the first vault of the finals, but a poor second effort dropped her off the podium and to fourth place.

China’s Dong Fangxiao placed seventh initially. 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.