Two months after Paul Hamm first had his gold medal draped around his neck, the medal is his - finally and forever. Sport's highest court rejected an appeal from a South Korean gymnast on Thursday, ruling that Hamm is the rightful champion in the men's all-around competition at the Athens Games. The verdict cannot be appealed. "It feels like it's mine now. If I were to damage it in any way, it wouldn't be going to anyone else. If I ruin it, it's mine to ruin," Hamm (above) said. "Now I'll be able to put it in a safe place and leave it there." The decision by a three-judge panel from the Court of Arbitration for Sport ends a tussle that began when South Korea's Yang Tae-young claimed a scoring error had cost him the victory. Yang asked the court to order international gymnastics officials to change the results and adjust the medal rankings accordingly, giving him the gold and Hamm the silver.