Is there a review fee in the olympics?

Interesting question. Apparently there is a $500 fee for submitting an appeal document. If the appeal is proved worthy, the person/team gets the money back.

According to one article:
All of which leads to the question: Why does a nation have to put up $500 in order to correct a clear mistake made by judges?

The gymnastics federation wanted to cut down on frivolous challenges and make the process more streamlined. It all stems from a 2004 controversy involving American Paul Hamm who was asked to hand back his gold medal in the men’s all-around in Athens after it was determined that judges improperly scored a routine from the bronze medalist. Source

The article also brings up some other valid questions. $500 is a drop in the bucket for some countries. For others, it could be a challenge just to get that money. How often do these appeals take place? Does it happen that frequently? Has the fee prevented someone or a team from filing one? If the appeal is denied, where does the money go?

Yes, I totally watched China’s huge fail last night, supposedly attributed to the crowd noise (from Britain locking in the bronze), which ended up giving them the bronze and pushing UK into the silver.

But wait, here comes China with a wad of cash for the judge. WTF?? Yes, he was paying for a challenge review. This was the first time I’d seen this, and apparently you don’t get the money back if you’re wrong, but you do if the challenge succeeds.

In the end, China was given .7 points back and reclaimed their silver. Guess it was money well spent (although China really needs to train with crowd noise as a factor!)