Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles is facing a difficult situation as she is being asked to return her bronze medal following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The controversy stems from a decision made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Sunday, which upheld CAS’s earlier ruling to reinstate the original rankings from the women’s floor final at the Paris Olympics.
The dispute began when Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, requested a review of the difficulty value of Chiles’ routine, resulting in a score increase that moved her from fifth to third place, securing the bronze medal. However, CAS later determined that Landi’s inquiry was submitted four seconds after the one-minute deadline, leading to the reversal of the score adjustment on August 10.
In a statement, the IOC announced that the bronze medal would be reallocated to Romania’s Ana Bărbosu. “Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu (Romania),” the organization said, according to NBC News. The IOC also confirmed that discussions are underway with the Romanian National Olympic Committee regarding the reallocation ceremony and with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) about the return of Chiles’ medal.
Despite the ruling, the USOPC has announced its intent to appeal the decision. “We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed,” the USOPC stated. “Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves.”
The controversy has taken a toll on Chiles, who was awarded the bronze medal on August 5 after her score was adjusted from 13.666 to 13.766, placing her ahead of Romanian gymnasts Ana Bărbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. However, following protests from the Romanian Olympic committee, CAS ruled that the initial rankings should stand, as Landi’s appeal exceeded the one-minute deadline for such inquiries.
Chiles appeared to react to the decision by posting a series of broken heart emojis on her Instagram Story, along with a message indicating that she would be stepping away from social media for the sake of her mental health. “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you,” she wrote.
In response to the ruling, USA Gymnastics and the USOPC released a joint statement expressing their disappointment. “We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise,” the statement read. “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.”
As of now, it remains uncertain whether Chiles will be required to return her bronze medal. The final decision will be made by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which has yet to release a formal statement on the matter. A spokesperson for FIG told USA Today that an official statement would be published on their website in due course.
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