updated 1:35 a.m. ET Aug. 27, 2004

NEW YORK - Paul Hamm is glad to be home, and gratified by all the support.

He was accompanied by twin brother Morgan on Thursday and wore three medals around his neck — two silvers for the high bar and team overall and a gold for the all-around, a performance that touched off one of the biggest disputes at the Athens Olympics.

“When I walked off the plane, there were so many people congratulating me, saying ‘you deserve it’ and ‘keep it,”’ said Paul Hamm, who returned to the United States on Wednesday and is preparing for a gymnastics tour. “I’m just so glad so many people support me.”

The brothers, Olympic teammates, expressed frustration with the International Gymnastics Federation and sympathy for Yang Tae-young, the South Korean who placed third in the all-around after judges failed to give him the correct start value for his parallel bars routine.

The South Koreans waited until after the competition to lodge a complaint, but FIG rules state protests have to be filed immediately.

“If I were in that situation, I would feel as if I were let down by my coaches,” Paul Hamm said. “I think the coaches were trying to save their reputations because they made the mistake for their gymnasts.”

South Korean officials had not filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as of Thursday. They have 21 days from the event to file an appeal.

That was not the only mistake to overshadow Hamm’s brilliant comeback. FIG officials reviewed videotape — which is not allowed in international gymnastics — suspended three judges and acknowledged Yang should have been awarded more points for his routine based on the degree of difficulty. On Monday, FIG president Bruno Grandi insinuated he’d like to see Hamm give up his gold.

“They completely kept this thing going,” Hamm said. “The media took a hold of it and (the FIG) didn’t put an end to it. They weren’t going to change their decision, but they kept igniting the flame ... by suspending judges.”

He suggested the maligned judges were hardly the only guilty parties.

“A start value mistake was made by probably dozens of judges throughout the Olympic Games,” he said. “We protested start value scores for the U.S. guys and girls and none of those judges were sanctioned.”

Hamm has been busy since landing in New York. He appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman” Wednesday night and spent Thursday morning in front of TV cameras.

On Tuesday, the twins leave for the Rock & Roll Gymnastics Championships Tour, which visits 12 cities from Aug. 31-Oct. 2. That shouldn’t be confused with the TJ Maxx Tour of Gymnastics Champions, which is advertised on the USA Gymnastics Web site.

The twins said they had several reasons for choosing the Rock & Roll tour — it’s shorter, less tiring and more lucrative. It will feature celebrity judges and performances by pop singer JoJo.

MORE FROM GYMNASTICS

Gymnastics Section Front

Paul Hamm allowed to keep gold medal Wilstein: Hamm goes for gold in sports' high court FIG considers gymnastics rule changes Celizic: Hamm should give up gold Belzman: Time to dump gymnastics Korean gymnast gets gold-medal welcome FIG denies putting pressure on Hamm Rogge refuses duplicate medal requests Interactive: Breaking down gymnastics NBCO: Inside the sport Gymnastics Section Front   Add Gymnastics headlines to your news reader: