A racism dispute has exploded after a young black gymnast was skipped over during a medal ceremony in Dublin.
Her parents have now attacked Gymnastics Ireland for its "useless" apology after footage emerged of the young girl being refused a medal while white gymnasts received their award.
The incident, which happened in March 2022, has been condemned by critics including Olympic champion Simone Biles who described it as "heartbreaking".
Her parents have said they felt like their daughter was "blamed for being black".
Her parents have now attacked Gymnastics Ireland for its 'useless' apology after footage emerged of the young girl being refused a medal while the white gymnasts received their award
Getty/ David Madison
Now 18 months later, Gymnastics Ireland said it was "deeply sorry" for the medal incident.
However, the girl's parents have claimed they only apologised "because we cried for so long".
"It is painful to actually state the obvious - my daughter was the only black child in that competition, she stood out well," the girl's mother told the BBC.
"There was no excuse for what happened. She felt very upset about what happened."
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"It was almost as though they blamed her for being black. It's something very uncomfortable for a ten-year-old to go through."
The medal snub took place at the GymStart event in Dublin last March.
Her father added: "They tried to cover up like it didn't happen. They probably thought that with time [we'd] forget about it. It was painful. You have to beg for an apology."
The mother said that she had emailed Gymnastics Ireland the day after the incident, but it took 12 months for the family to receive a short apology letter from the judge at the event.
The incident has been condemned by critics including Olympic champion Simone Biles who described it as 'heartbreaking'
Tim Clayton - Corbis/ Getty
The judge reportedly wrote a different apology shortly after the event which she had sent to Gymnastics Ireland to give to the family.
However, the family say they never received that email and only saw it last month.
Team USA gymnast Simone Biles sent a video of support to the young girl after her parents reached out.
In a post of social media, she said: "There is no room for racism in any sport or at all."
