US gymnast Jordan Chiles must return bronze after court ruling

Two-time U.S. Olympic gymnast medalist Jordan Chiles shows her medals after ringing the closing bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York’s Times Square, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

PARIS — American gymnast Jordan Chiles must return the bronze medal she won in the Paris Olympics floor exercise after sport’s highest court voided an on-floor appeal by Chiles’ coach that vaulted Chiles to third, 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 would respect the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to third.

The decision came less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided a scoring appeal made by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the competition that placed Chiles on the podium.

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CAS ruled Saturday that Landi’s appeal to have 0.1 added to Chiles’ score came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the FIG. The ad hoc committee wrote that Landi’s inquiry came 1 minute, 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted.

The IOC said in a statement it will be in touch with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee regarding the return of Chiles’ bronze and will work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss a reallocation ceremony honoring Barbosu.

CAS wrote Saturday that the initial finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision,” but left it up to the federation to decide who would get the medal behind gold winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the U.S.

The FIG said it was the IOC’s call on whether to reallocate the medal. The IOC confirmed Sunday it would respect FIG’s decision and seek to have Chiles’ medal returned.

The rapid turn of events adds another 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 because of the wrenching sequence in which she went from bronze medalist to fourth-place finisher.

“I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them,” Comaneci posted on X earlier in the week.

Comaneci, at the same time, criticized the judges for the way 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 decision 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, thank you.”

Jazmin Chiles, Jordan’s sister, said on Instagram that Chiles was stripped of a medal “not because she wasn’t good enough. But because the judges failed to give her difficulty and forced an inquiry to be made.”

U.S. teammates offered support to Chiles, a two-time Olympian.

“Sending you so much love Jordan,” American star Simone Biles posted 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.”

USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Saturday it is “devastated” by the ruling.

READ: Simone Biles captures second all-around gymnastics title

“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 wrote.

Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea were left outside the medals in the floor final after finishing with matching scores of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker — a higher execution score — and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.

Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially given a score of 13.666 that placed her fifth, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an inquiry on Chiles’ score was announced.

“At this point, we had nothing to lose, so I was like ‘We’re just going to try,‘” Landi said 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?’”

Judges awarded the appeal, leapfrogging Chiles past Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea.

Barbosu made it a point after returning home to Romania that she had no problem 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, called out the critics in a post, writing she was “tired” of the derogatory comments being leveled at Jordan.

“My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched,” Gina Chiles posted. “And she’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 right thing to do,” Biles said about a moment that soon went viral, with even the Louvre itself suggesting it might be worthy enough for a spot somewhere in the vicinity of the Mona Lisa.

That memory now carries a complicated and emotional postscript.