ATHENS – The U.S. Olympic Committee said yesterday it might support a duplicate gold medal in the men’s all-around, won by Paul Hamm. South Korea protested after it was acknowledged a scoring error was made.

After the governing body for gymnastics told the Koreans they didn’t have a case, they brought the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Initially, U.S. gymnastics officials balked at the idea of having a second gold medal awarded, but their position has softened.

“We indicated to them … that we’d be willing to consider the notion of a second gold medal in the event,” USOC

spokesman Darryl Seibel said.