American gymnast Jordan Chiles is required to return the bronze medal she received in the Paris Olympics floor exercise. This decision came after the highest court in sports voided an on-floor appeal made by Chiles’ coach that had placed her in third. The International Olympic Committee confirmed this on Sunday.
The IOC announced that the bronze medal from last Monday’s women’s floor final will now be reallocated to Romanian Ana Barbosu. This decision was made after the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) stated that they would honor the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to third place.
This ruling was issued less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport nullified a scoring appeal submitted by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the competition that had placed Chiles on the podium.
CAS determined that Landi’s appeal to add 0.1 to Chiles’ score was made outside the 1-minute window permitted by the FIG. The ad hoc committee stated that Landi’s inquiry was submitted 1 minute and 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted.
The IOC stated that they will coordinate with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to facilitate the return of Chiles’ bronze medal. They will also collaborate with the Romanian Olympic Committee to organize a ceremony to honor Barbosu.
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CAS also stated that the original finishing order should be reinstated, with Barbosu in third, Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea in fourth, and Chiles in fifth place. The FIG was tasked with determining the final ranking in accordance with this decision, leaving it to the federation to decide who would receive the medal behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the U.S.
The FIG noted that the decision to reallocate the medal was in the hands of the IOC. The IOC has confirmed that they will abide by the FIG’s decision and work to retrieve Chiles’ medal.
The swift turn of events adds a new layer of complexity to what has been a challenging period for all three athletes.
Romanian gymnastics icon and 1976 Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci expressed concern for Barbosu’s mental well-being following the upsetting sequence that saw her go from bronze medalist to fourth place.
“I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them,” Comaneci shared on X earlier in the week.
Comaneci also criticized the judges for their scoring of Maneca-Voinea’s routine, pointing out that the gymnast was penalized 0.1 points for stepping out of bounds, even though replays indicated she narrowly stayed in bounds. Comaneci urged the Romanian Olympic Committee to file a protest, which they did, but CAS rejected the appeal.
In an Instagram story on Saturday, Chiles hinted at the decision, expressing her heartbreak and indicating that she will take a break from social media for the sake of her mental health.
Jazmin Chiles, Jordan’s sister, stated on Instagram that Chiles lost her medal “not because she wasn’t good enough, but because the judges failed to assess her difficulty and prompted an inquiry.”
U.S. teammates showed their support for Chiles, a two-time Olympian.
“Sending you so much love Jordan,” American superstar Simone Biles wrote on Instagram. “Keep your chin up ‘Olympic champ,’ we love you.”
“All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?” six-time Olympic medalist Sunisa Lee added on Instagram. “Completely unacceptable, this is awful and I’m gutted for Jordan.”
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USA Gymnastics expressed devastation regarding the ruling in a statement on Saturday.
“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 organization stated.
Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea missed out on medals in the floor final despite both finishing with scores of 13.700. Barbosu initially thought she had secured the bronze over Maneca-Voinea due to a tiebreaker – a higher execution score – and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.
Chiles was the final athlete to compete and was initially given a score of 13.666, placing her in fifth position right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi requested an inquiry into Chiles’ score once it was announced.
“At this point, we had nothing to lose, so I was like ‘We’re just going to try,'” Landi remarked after the awards ceremony. “I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen, but when I heard her scream, I turned around and was like ‘What?'”
The appeal was accepted by the judges, moving Chiles ahead of Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea in the rankings.
Following her return to Romania, Barbosu made it clear that she had no issues 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 as athletes don’t deserve something like that, we only want to perform as best as we can and to be rewarded based on our performance. The problems lie with the judges, with their calculations and decisions.”
Chiles’ mother, Gina Chiles, addressed the critics in a post, expressing her fatigue over the derogatory comments directed at Jordan.
“My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched,” Gina Chiles wrote. “And she’s being called disgusting things.”
This uncertainty now casts a shadow over what was a touching moment on the podium, when Chiles and Biles knelt to honor Andrade after the Brazilian athlete secured her fourth medal in Paris.
“It was just the right thing to do,” Biles remarked about the moment, which quickly went viral, with even the Louvre suggesting it might be worthy of a place near the Mona Lisa.
This memory now has a complex and emotional aftermath.
