Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles was forced to return her Olympic bronze medal following the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling in favor of an appeal filed by the Romanian gymnastics team.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced hours before the 2024 Olympic Games closing ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 11, that the bronze medal would go to Ana Barbosu of Romania instead.
Jordan Chiles was awarded the bronze medal during the Olympic Games women’s gymnastics floor exercise final on Monday, Aug. 5. She initially scored a 13.666 on her routine, putting her in fifth place, behind Romania’s Barbosu in third place and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea in fourth place.
However, Team USA gymnastics coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi filed an on-floor appeal, claiming Chiles’ score was incorrect due to the routine’s level of difficulty. Eventually, the judges agreed to adjust Chiles’ score by 0.1, putting her in third place.
Following the medal ceremony, the Romanians filed an appeal, citing that Team USA’s initial appeal occurred outside the one-minute time limit. CAS agreed with the Romanians’ point about the time limit and noted that Team USA’s appeal came one minute and four seconds. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) restored the original scoring and gave Barbosu the bronze.
FIG spokesperson Meike Behrensen did state the “reallocation of medals is the responsibility of the IOC.”
USA Gymnastics and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Responds
USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee released a statement about the situation.
“We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise,” the statement reads. “The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.”
The statement continued, “Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless, and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”
USA Gymnastics stated that the federation has formally submitted a letter and video evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Despite the circumstances, Barbosu took to Instagram to show support for both Chiles and Maneca-Voinea. “Sabrina, Jordan, my thoughts are with you,” Barbosu wrote. “I know what you are feeling, because I’ve been through the same. But I know you’ll come back stronger. I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share same podium. This is my true dream!”