The bronze medal that American gymnast Jordan Chiles earned in the women’s floor final on Monday has been taken away from her.
Following a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), Romania’s Ana Barbosu was promoted from fourth to third place, according to the International Gymnastics Federation (Fig).
Cas sustained an appeal by the Romanian Olympic Committee, arguing that the US team’s questioning of Chiles’ score went beyond the allotted one-minute time frame and ought to be ignored.
Now that Chiles’ initial score has been restored, she has fallen back to fifth position.
“Devastated” by the ruling, USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee denounced the “consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks” Chiles has been subjected to on social media during the appeals process.
Following her four broken heart emoji post on her Instagram story, 23-year-old Chiles—who took home the gold in the women’s team event—wrote, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.”
What took place?
Chiles’ initial score in Monday’s final, 13.666, placed her fifth overall and gave Romanian gymnast Barbosu, who scored 13.7, reason to think she had taken home the bronze.
Officials raised Chiles’ score to 13.766, placing her third, following coach Cecile Landi’s inquiry over her difficulty rating.
The change infuriated Barbosu, who had started to celebrate her medal, and prompted the Romanian team to protest.
The “scandalous situation” was described by Romania’s prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, who also threatened to abstain from the closing ceremony.
Cas granted the Romanian Olympic Committee’s appeal, citing the inquiry’s “untimely” submission—it was received four seconds past the one-minute mark.
On Saturday, Cas restored Chiles’ score of 13.666, which Fig. later verified.
The International Olympic Committee announced that it would reallocate the bronze medal to Barbosu and that it is in communication with both the Romanian Olympic Committee and the US team over the medal’s return.
The inquiry into the difficulty value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believe, in accordance with Fig rules to ensure accurate scoring,” stated USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Regarding Chiles’s abuse on the internet, they continued, saying, “No athlete ought to endure such behavior. We denounce the attacks and those who participate in, encourage, or incite them.
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Simone Biles, Chiles’ teammate, placed second in the competition, while Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won gold. In a famous moment from the Games, Biles and Chiles bowed down to Andrade on the podium.
In a supportive message, Biles wrote, “Sending you so much love Jordan, Keep your chin up Olympic champ, we love you.”
Gymnast Sunisa Lee, a fellow US gold medallist, posted: “With all of this debate about the athlete, what about the judges? This is terrible, totally unacceptable, and I feel so bad for Jordan.”
