American gymnast Jordan Chiles must return the bronze medal she won within the Paris Olympics floor exercise after sport’s highest court voided an on-floor appeal by Chiles’ coach that vaulted Chiles to 3rd, the International Olympic Committee confirmed Sunday.
The IOC announced early Sunday it was reallocating the bronze from last Monday’s women’s floor final to Romanian Ana Barbosu after the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Saturday night it might respect the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to 3rd.
The choice got here lower than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided a scoring appeal made by Team USA coach Cecile Landi through the competition that placed Chiles on the rostrum.
CAS ruled Saturday that Landi’s appeal to have 0.1 added to Chiles’ rating got here outside the 1-minute window allowed by the FIG.
The ad hoc committee wrote that Landi’s inquiry got here 1 minute, 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial rating was posted.
The IOC said in an announcement it would be in contact with the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee regarding the return of Chiles’ bronze and can work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to debate a reallocation ceremony honoring Barbosu.
CAS wrote Saturday that the initial ending order ought to be restored, with Barbosu third, Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth.
The organization added the FIG should determine the ultimate rating “in accordance with the above decision,” but left it as much as the federation to make your mind up who would get the medal behind gold winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the US.
The FIG said it was the IOC’s call on whether to reallocate the medal. The IOC confirmed Sunday it might respect FIG’s decision and seek to have Chiles’ medal returned.
The rapid turn of events adds one other layer to what has been a difficult few days for all three athletes.
Romanian gymnastics legend and 1976 Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci feared for Barbosu’s mental health due to the wrenching sequence through which she went from bronze medalist to fourth-place finisher.
“I can’t consider we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them,” Comaneci posted on X earlier within the week.
Comaneci, at the identical time, criticized the judges for the way in which they scored Maneca-Voinea’s routine — the gymnast was docked 0.1 points for stepping out of bounds, but viral replays showed she narrowly stayed inbounds. Comaneci urged the Romanian Olympic Committee to protest, which it did, but CAS denied that appeal.
Chiles hinted at the choice in an Instagram story on Saturday, indicating she is heartbroken and is “taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thanks.”
Jazmin Chiles, Jordan’s sister, said on Instagram that Chiles was stripped of a medal “not because she wasn’t adequate. But since the judges failed to present her difficulty and compelled an inquiry to be made.”
US teammates offered support to Chiles, a two-time Olympian.
“Sending you a lot love Jordan,” American star Simone Biles posted on Instagram. “Keep your chin up ‘Olympic champ’ we love you.”
“All this talk concerning the athlete, what concerning the judges?” six-time Olympic medalist Sunisa Lee added on Instagram. “Completely unacceptable, that is awful and I’m gutted for jordan.”
USA Gymnastics said in an announcement on Saturday it’s “devastated” by the ruling.
“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 make sure accurate scoring,” the organization wrote.
Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea were left outside the medals in the ground final after ending with matching scores of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker — a better execution rating — and commenced celebrating with a Romanian flag.
Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially given a rating of 13.666 that placed her fifth, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an inquiry on Chiles’ rating was announced.
“At this point, we had nothing to lose, so I used to be like ‘We’re just going to try,‘” Landi said after the awards ceremony. “I truthfully didn’t think it was going to occur, but once I heard her scream, I turned around and was like ‘What?’”
Judges awarded the appeal, leapfrogging Chiles past Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea.
Barbosu made it some extent after returning home to Romania that she had no problem with Chiles.
“I only want for everyone to be fair, we don’t want to start out picking on other athletes of any nationality,” Barbosu told reporters. “We as athletes don’t deserve something like that, we only need to perform as best as we are able to and to be rewarded based on our performance. The issues lie with the judges, with their calculations and decisions.”
Chiles’ mother, Gina Chiles, called out the critics in a post, writing she was “drained” of the derogatory comments being leveled at Jordan.
“My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the most important heart and a level of sportsmanship that’s unmatched,” Gina Chiles posted. “And she or he’s being called disgusting things.”
The uncertainty also tinges what had been a beautiful moment on the medal stand, when Chiles and Biles knelt to honor Andrade after the Brazilian star won her fourth medal in Paris.
“It was just the precise thing to do,” Biles said a couple of moment that soon went viral, with even the Louvre itself suggesting it is perhaps worthy enough for a spot somewhere within the vicinity of the Mona Lisa.
That memory now carries an advanced and emotional postscript.
