Jordan Chiles must return her Olympic bronze medal
This comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the arbitration committee erred in granting the investigation submitted by the Chilean national team coaches.
The International Olympic Committee announced Sunday morning that American gymnast Jordan Chiles will be required to return the individual bronze medal she won at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The news comes less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the women’s floor exercise final judges erred in granting a query from Chiles’ coaches, moving the American gymnast into the medal position. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation disputed the move, saying it was filed four seconds after the deadline by which any query should have been filed.
The International Olympic Committee said in a statement that it would re-award the bronze medal to Romania’s Ana Barbosu.
“We are in contact with the Romanian National Olympic Committee to discuss the redistribution ceremony and with the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee regarding the return of the bronze medal,” the IOC said in a statement.
Spokespeople for USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment, though they issued a statement Saturday evening calling the CAS decision “devastating.”
“The investigation into the difficulty rating of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise was conducted in good faith, and we believe it complies with the (International Gymnastics Federation) rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the entities said.
“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subjected to sustained, unfounded and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subjected to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who participate in, support or incite them. We commend Jordan for acting with integrity both on and off the court, and we continue to stand by her and support her.”
Chiles, 23, wrote on Instagram on Saturday that she was leaving social media to protect her mental health.
The IOC’s decision to strip Chiles of her bronze medal was the latest emotional blow following the floor final at Bercy Arena. Chiles finished last in the final and initially received 13.666 points, putting her in fifth place behind Barbosu and another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Voinia. But after the U.S. coaches appealed the score to the judges, her score was increased by a tenth of a point and she jumped two points clear of the Romanian gymnasts to win the bronze medal.
The investigation came at the last minute as Barbosu was celebrating the medal she believed she had won, sparking protests from the Romanians. They later filed a formal appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Swiss-based court that normally acts as the final arbitrator in international sporting disputes, claiming the investigation was filed four seconds after the 60-second deadline by which investigations must be submitted.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favour of the Romanians and said that Chiles’ score should be restored to 13.666, but left any decisions on final standings or medals to the International Gymnastics Federation.
FINA subsequently confirmed it would re-evaluate Chiles’ initial ranking and move her up to fifth, but deferred any decisions on whether she should return the bronze medal to the International Olympic Committee, which toppled the final domino on Sunday morning.
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