PARIS – Jordan Chiles may have to return the bronze medal he won in the floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Saturday that the panel of judges had improperly given the final sanction in the women’s floor exercise. An investigation that increased Chiles’ score And moved her to bronze medal status. A Swiss court found that Chiles’ appeal was submitted past the one-minute deadline for such requests Therefore should not have been granted.
As a result, CAS said, the American gymnast should have scored 13.666 in the competition — which would have placed her fifth, just shy of the Olympic podium.
The International Gymnastics Federation, which governs the sport, confirmed in a statement on Saturday that Chiles’ score had been reinstated and Romania’s Ana Barbos, who scored 13.7, had been moved back into third place.
All of this makes it unclear whether Chiles, 23, will now have to hand back her bronze medal. A spokesperson for the FIG said the reallocation of medals was the responsibility of the International Olympic Committee. The IOC’s press office did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment and clarification on the situation.
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“All this talk about the athlete, what about the referees?” Sunisa Lee of the Chiles wrote on Instagram. “Absolutely unacceptable. It’s so bad, I’m gutted for Jordan.”
Simone Biles trains with the Chileans at the World Champions Centre. was added: “Sending you so much love Jordan! May you be an Olympic champion! We love you!”
Chiles, 23, said she was unaware her coaches Cecile and Laurent Landy had appealed on her behalf immediately after the event, but she has been the target of scathing messages on social media claiming she “stole” the bronze. From Ana Barbosu, Romania.
Chiles refers to the criticism he received for posting emojis of a pending CAS case or broken hearts. on his Instagram story.
“I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health,” she wrote in a second message on Saturday.
USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a joint statement They argued they were “devastated” by Saturday’s ruling, arguing that the investigation into Chiles’ score was “filed in good faith and … in accordance with FIG rules.”
“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subjected to constant, completely baseless and highly offensive attacks on social media. No athlete should be subjected to such treatment,” the two governing bodies said in their statement.
“We condemn the attacks and those who support or instigate them. We applaud Jordan for his integrity on and off the field of competition, and we stand by him.”
The news comes less than a week after that Dramatic final day of Olympic gymnastics competition.
In the last routine of the last event, Chiles finished a fraction of a point behind Barbosu and another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Voinia; They had scored 13,700. But then, in what Chile’s coaches admitted was a metaphorical Hail Mary, the U.S. officially submitted what’s known as an inquiry to the jury, essentially asking them to revisit the exemptions they had imposed against Chiles.
After reviewing the element in question — a split leap known as a tour de jette full — the judges reversed the deduction and increased Chiles’ score by one-tenth of a point, elevating him to bronze.
“I hope not, but what do you have to lose?” Laurent Landy later spoke about the investigation. “She was already off the stage, so even if they dropped the score, it wouldn’t have been too bad, you know? We tried.”
“I was at the same angle as the judge and I felt better than all the other meets (her Tour de Jet Full) than she did, so what the heck? We might as well try.”
A last-minute adjustment resulted in a heartbreaking moment for Barbosu, who went upstairs with the Romanian flag believing he had won bronze. When Chiles’ trial was declared a success, the 18-year-old Romanian dropped the flag and left the stage.
In the following days, the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolagu He said he would not attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Games Because of the judging decision, former Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci also criticized the judges’ handling of the trial.
“I can’t believe we’re playing with athletes dealing with mental health and emotions like this,” Comaneci said Wrote in XFormerly known as Twitter.
Romanian Gymnastics Federation He then filed several appeals to the CAS, Challenges the outcome of the event. One of the appeals involving the trial submitted on behalf of Chiles, which the Romanian federation said was filed exactly four seconds past the 60-second time limit. Another appeal sought reversal of the fine imposed against Voinea for breach of statute of limitations.
The CAS granted its first appeal, but reconsidered the second, while making no decisions regarding the final order of FIG. The FIG later ruled on the order of finish, but pointed to the IOC when asked about Chiles’ medal.
It’s not immediately clear what kind of help USA Gymnastics or the USOPC can offer moving forward, though CAS decisions are typically only appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal — which reviews them only on limited and mostly procedural grounds.
Chiles was emotional upon receiving the medal and spoke of his pride for making the individual podium at the Paris Games. After helping lead the United States to silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she again played a significant role in the Americans winning gold in the team finals this year.
“I’m on cloud nine,” he told reporters after the end of the floor exercise. “It’s my first (Olympic) individual event (apparatus) final in my second Olympics. I’m speechless.”
Even Chiles He finished fourth in the all-around qualifying round But she was excluded from the final due to a rule in gymnastics that limits the field to two gymnasts per country. Although she placed fourth, she finished third among American gymnasts in the all-around handicap Biles won gold and Lee won bronze.
Contributed by: Nancy Armour
Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on social media @Tom_Schad.
