Jordan Chiles, the American gymnast, is required to relinquish the bronze medal she earned in the floor exercise event at the Paris Olympics. The news was announced following a decision by sport’s highest court to overturn an on-floor appeal made by Chile’s coach, which resulted in the gymnast being placed third.
The International Olympic Committee made an announcement on Sunday regarding the reallocation of the bronze medal from the women’s floor final. Romania’s Ana Barbosu will now be awarded the bronze after the FIG, the governing body of gymnastics, decided to honour the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to third place.
The decision was made in less than 24 hours after the court of arbitration for sport dismissed a scoring appeal by Team USA coach Cecile Landi. This appeal had been made during the competition, where Chile had initially secured a place on the podium.
On Saturday, the court ruled that Landi’s request to increase Chile’s score by 0.1 was made just four seconds after the one-minute window allowed by the FIG.
In a statement, the IOC mentioned that they will be contacting the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee to arrange the return of Chile’s bronze medal. Additionally, they will be collaborating with the Romanian Olympic Committee to plan a ceremony for the reallocation of Barbosu’s medal.
On Saturday, Cas made a suggestion to restore the initial finishing order. According to Cas, Barbosu should come in third, with Chiles coming in fifth and the Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea coming in fourth. The organisation stated that the FIG would determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision,” while leaving the decision of who would receive the bronze medal up to the federation. The Romanian gymnastics federation has requested the allocation of three bronze medals.
The FIG stated that the decision to reallocate the medal was in the hands of the IOC. The IOC has confirmed its commitment to honouring FIG’s decision and taking the necessary steps to have Chile’s medal returned.
The swift change of circumstances adds an additional dimension to the challenging past few days for all three athletes. Nadia Comaneci, a renowned figure in Romanian gymnastics, expressed concern for Barbosu’s mental well-being due to the ongoing saga. “It’s truly disheartening how we toy with the mental health and emotions of athletes. We must prioritise their well-being,” Comaneci expressed on X earlier this week.
Chiles posted on Instagram on Saturday that she is “taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health. Thank you.”.
Chiles’ US teammates supported him on Instagram. “Sending you so much love, Jordan,” Simone Biles Instagrammed. “Keep your chin up, ‘Olympic champ’; we love you.” Sunisa Lee condemned the judges for their role. “All this talk about the athlete—what about the judges?” Lee wrote. “Completely unacceptable; this is awful, and I’m gutted for Jordan.”
USA Gymnastics responded on Saturday that it is “devastated” by the ruling. “The inquiry into Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine difficulty value was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the organisation noted.
Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea missed the floor final medals with equal scores of 13.700. Barbosu felt she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea with a higher execution score and celebrated with a Romanian flag. Chiles was the last to compete and scored 13.666, seventh behind Maneca-Voinea. It was revealed that Landi will investigate Chile’s score.
“At this point, we had nothing to lose, so I was like: ‘We’re just going to try,’” Landi remarked after the awards. “I didn’t think it would happen, but when I heard her scream, I turned around and said, ‘What?’” Chiles surpassed Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea after judges upheld the appeal.
Barbosu stated in Romania that she had no issue with Chiles. “I only want for everybody to be fair; we don’t want to start picking on other athletes of any nationality,” Barbosu told reporters. “We athletes don’t deserve that; we just want to perform well and be rewarded for it. Judges’ computations and choices are the issue.”
Gina, Chiles’s mother, said that she was “tired” of the criticism. “My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and unmatched sportsmanship,” Gina Chiles wrote. “And she’s called disgusting.”
Chiles and Biles knelt to honour Rebeca Andrade after she won her fourth medal in Paris, but the ambiguity marred the emotional occasion.
“It was just the right thing to do,” Biles said about the moment. That memory now carries a complicated and emotional postscript.
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