What Happened to Jordan Chiles’ Olympic Bronze Medal in Floor Exercise?
Aug 14, 2024 11:45AM ● By Nicole Petrus
U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles' controversial bronze medal in the women’s individual floor exercise at the Paris Olympics has only gotten moreso.
The International Olympic Committee has ordered the 23-year-old to return her medal after a court ruled it had been awarded to her after an improper coach’s appeal. The medal has instead been given to Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee signaled its intent to file an appeal, according to NBC News.
“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed,” it said in a statement.
“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves,” the committee said. “We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.”
Why Was Jordan Chiles Initially Given the Bronze?
On Monday, August 5, Chiles competed in the women’s individual floor exercise, days after she and her teammates won the team gold in dominant fashion. Chiles was the final competitor, and received an initial score of 13.666, which put her in fifth place behind two Romanian gymnasts, Bǎrbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, both with scores of 13.700. However, Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi thought that the judges may have missed a component of her routine – a split leap – that would have raised the degree of difficulty for the routine and, thus, her final score.
Two factors go into a gymnastics judge’s score: execution and difficulty. Execution scores are subjective and thus aren’t appealable. Difficulty is supposed to be objective, and are open to appeals, though there is a strict frameworks under which an appeal can be filed. First, a verbal inquiry must be communicated to the judge within a minute of the score being posted, then the appeal must be confirmed in writing within an additional four minutes. Coaches filing an appeal just also be willing to pay a fee if the judges’ initial decision is upheld – in this case 300 Swiss francs (or about $351 USD), with the amounts escalating for additional appeals so coaches don’t abuse the system.
Landi filed such an appeal and the judges agreed they had not, in fact, credited Chiles for the split leap in her routine, thus raising her score a full tenth of a point, to 13.766, which leapfrogged her over Bǎrbosu and Maneca-Voinea. Because Chiles was the last performer, the timing was incredibly awkward, as Bǎrbosu was on the floor celebrating with a Romanian flag (though there scores were tied, Bǎrbosu had a higher execution score than her compatriot, giving her third place) thinking she had won bronze when Chiles’ new score flashed. As everything sunk in, she lowered her flag and burst into tears.
Romanian officials were outraged over the affair and immediately pledged to appeal. The country’s prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu said he’d be boycotting the Olympic Closing Ceremony in protest, and Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comǎneci weighed in on X about Bǎrbosu’s treatment.
"I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them," she wrote.
Why Was Chiles Stripped of Her Bronze Medal?
Romanian officials followed through with their appeal, which they filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), an independent ruling body based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The court determined on Saturday, August 10 that Chiles’ coach had made the initial verbal appeal four seconds too late, thus invalidating it. On Sunday, August 11, the IOC stated it would abide by the court’s decision, awarding the medal to Bǎrbosu and seeking to reclaim the prize already given to Chiles, who by that point had returned to the U.S.
“Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in its statement. “We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
USA Gymnastics Say They Have Proof Appeal Was Filed Within Time Limit
Following the IOC ruling on Chiles' medal, USA Gymnastics released a statement saying they have video proof that Chiles' coach lodged her verbal appeal within the required 60 seconds and have submitted it to the CAS.
According to the statement, the gymnastics body says "time-stamped video evidence" shows Cecil Landi submitted the verbal inquiry 47 seconds after Chiles' score was posted. They've asked the CAS to revise its ruling against Chiles.
CAS Rejects USA Gymnastics' Appeal
Later on Monday, August12, following USA Gymnastics' submission of the video evidence, the organization said that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had rejected their request to reevaluate its decision.
"USA Gymnastics was notified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday that their rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented," the organization said in a statement. "We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan."
How has Jordan Chiles responded?
After the court ruling, and with the fate of her medal still up in the air, Chiles took to social media on Saturday, posting four broken-heart emojis, according to NBC News.
“I am taking the time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you,” she wrote, though the post appears to have been taken down by Sunday afternoon.
By Daniel Carty Updated Aug 13, 2024, 2:17 PM ET
Originally published Aug 12, 2024.
