GYMNASTICS: U.S. GETS TWO MORE SILVERS HAMM IS INTERRUPTED WHEN CROWD BOOS JUDGES.

Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer

ATHENS, Greece - It couldn't end simply, not even with the U.S. gymnastics team adding another two silver medals and concluding one of its best Olympics.

Paul Hamm and Carly Patterson added to their earlier gold medals in the all-around competition on Monday with silvers in individual events.

The U.S. team should have left happy and proud with its nine overall medals, but controversy and the bizarre somehow once again found its way to Hamm.

Hamm, already mired in an unsavory dispute over his all-around gold because of a scoring mishap, had the unfortunate timing to follow Russian Alexei Nemov on the horizontal bar. Which is exactly when chaos broke out at the Olympic Indoor Hall.

Nemov put together an exciting routine, stumbled slightly on his landing, and then awaited his score. When a 9.725 was flashed, the unsatisfied crowd erupted with boos.

Hamm approached the bar to begin his routine, but the crowd would not let up. Hamm finally walked off the stage, waited, sat down and waited some more.

All while the crowd continued booing the judges. There was a huddle at the scoring table, another huddle, and then two of the six judges' scores were changed, each by .10 points.

That elevated Nemov's average to 9.762, but still third out of three gymnasts, and the crowd just continued to boo.

There was no explanation given for the scoring change. USA Gymnastics spokesman Brian Eaton said he saw the Malaysian judge signal that he had entered an incorrect score. The Canadian judge's score was also changed.

It was a surreal scene. Hamm went back on the horizontal bars stage, but the booing went unabated. Finally he asked Nemov to come on the stage and ask the crowd to quiet down, which he did.

The booing and cackling lasted almost 10 minutes. Even as Hamm finally approached the bar to begin his routine, the arena was rocking with protest.

``It was amazing,'' said Morgan Hamm, Paul's brother and teammate. ``I've never seen anything like it. I think it would have been very hard to concentrate. He was standing there for a long time.''

When Paul Hamm finally got his routine underway, the crowd slowly grew more or less quiet. Amazingly, he was nearly perfect.

``I tried to block it out as if nothing were happening, like I was going to compete,'' he said. ``I don't know if I was able to do that.''

He drew a 9.812 score - and the crowd booed that, too. Too much better than Nemov.

He remained in first place until Italy's Igor Cassina matched him with a 9.812 score, but was elevated to first by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) tie-breaking rules, a system basically understood only by the federation.

Cassina got the gold and Hamm the silver, though Hamm earned a certain respect - perhaps also by the judges - for being able to perform well under trying and unusual circumstances.

``The atmosphere tonight was obviously challenging,'' Hamm said. ``But I think it enhanced what I was able to do.''

It brought to an end another trying day for Hamm. Earlier Monday USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said the American delegation had twice met with the South Korean Olympic Committee over the all-around controversy.

Korean gymnast Tae Young Yang was not given the correct start value for one of his routines, and the extra .10 points would have vaulted him from third past Hamm into first.

``We're willing to explore the possibility of a second gold medal be awarded,'' Seibel said.

But Bruno Grandi, president of FIG, told The Associated Press Monday that rules prevent him from asking for another gold medal to make up for the scoring error.

``I don't have the possibility to change it,'' Grandi said. ``Our rules don't allow it.''

Protests continued to haunt gymnastics Monday. Canada protested a score, and the U.S. protested a too-low start value for UCLA's Mohini Bhardwaj on the floor exercise.

``There was a move in there they missed that should have made it a 9.9 instead of 9.7,'' Bhardwaj said. ``I don't have any control over that.''

Judges appeared to review video, but let the score stand. If the extra .20 points had been awarded, Bhardwaj would have taken the bronze.

Romania's Catalina Ponor, who earlier won the beam, also took gold in the floor.

Patterson was second to Ponor on the beam, giving her a third medal. Patterson said he made up her beam routine in Athens.

``I'm definitely happy,'' Patterson said. ``I couldn't ask for more. Being all-around champion is what I wanted.''

Courtney Kupets took fifth on the beam.

``I did a good routine and just had one small mistake,'' Kupets said.

Hamm also competed in the parallel bars, but stumbled on his dismount and finished seventh. The Ukraine's Valeri Goncharov took the parallel gold.

Steve Dilbeck, [phone]

stephen.dilbeck(at)dailynews.com

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American Carly Patterson earned her third medal of the Olympics with a silver on the balance beam.

Amy Sancetta/Associated Press