On August 10, a judge for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided in favor of two Romanian gymnasts, effectively stripping Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal in floor exercise at the Paris Olympics.
The CAS court agreed with a petition by Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu (who had previously won bronze) and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who argued Chiles was mistakenly given third place during the floor final on August 5.
The IOC confirmed in a statement to the public on Sunday, August 11, that Barbosu will receive Chile’s medal.
“We are in touch with the Romanian NOC to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal,” according to a statement.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the IOC have received the CAS decision and will determine how to distribute the medals.
Chiles, 23, earned bronze in the floor final, her first individual Olympic medal, after finishing fifth according to the judges’ scores. However, her coach, Cecile Landi of USA Gymnastics, promptly filed a successful inquiry of the judgment, pointing out that her difficulty score had been too low, particularly for a leap that required splitting the air while rotating 540 degrees.
The judges agreed with Landi, increasing Chiles’ score from 13.666 to 13.766, giving her bronze over Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea, both of whom earned 13.700.
The Romanian Olympic Committee disputed the ruling the next day, and on Saturday, a CAS court concluded that Landi filed the inquiry in 1 minute and 4 seconds, which was 4 seconds too late to count.
“The inquiry submitted on behalf of Ms. Jordan Chiles in the final of the women’s floor exercise was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline provided by Article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations and is determined to be without effect,” according to the verdict.
The Romanian Olympic Committee requested that the IOC/FIG “place all three athletes in third position and allocate medals to all three athletes,” but Barbosu was the only one to receive a medal.
Before the CAS decision, Chiles shared a series of sorrowful emoticons on her Instagram Stories. Following the announcement, she stated that she was discontinuing her use of social media.
“I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health. Thank you.”
Simone Biles, her close friend and teammate, said on Instagram Stories, “Sending you so much love, Jordan,” along with a shot of the two gymnasts cuddling at a competition. “Keep your chin up, Olympic champion! “We love you!”
USA Gymnastics also expressed unhappiness with the CAS ruling in a statement published with people.
“We are heartbroken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s verdict on women’s floor exercises. We conducted the inquiry into the difficulty value of Jordan Chile’s floor exercise program in good faith and, we believe, in compliance with FIG regulations to ensure accurate grading.