Team USA women’s gymnastics coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi is done with the drama surrounding Jordan Chiles’ 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medal.
Canqueteau-Landi, 44, congratulated Chiles, 23, and Simone Biles on their Olympics wins in a Tuesday, August 6, Instagram upload. She took to the post’s comments to respond to a user who accused her and her fellow coaches of cheating to help Chiles win bronze in the floor exercise final.
“I shouldn’t have to explain but I will ONCE,” Canqueteau-Landi wrote on Tuesday. “Jordan’s highest possible SV on floor is a 5.9- At quals and team finals she received a 5.8 and we didn’t question it because we saw that not all elements were completed. During floor finals, we thought [it] was better and being placed 5th with nothing to lose, I sent the inquiry so I wouldn’t regret not asking. I didn’t think it would be accepted and at my surprise it was.”
Canqueteau-Landi went on to state that she “didn’t steal anything from anyone,” as she “simply did my job and fought for my athlete.”
She continued: “Do I feel bad for the Romanian athlete? Of course I do! It was so sad and heartbreaking to see but it is the sport! You don’t have to like it but you do have to respect the outcome and more importantly respect Jordan and not drag her down because you disagree. She EARNED that bronze medal, her 1st individual Olympic medal and I couldn’t be more proud and excited!”
Chiles initially placed fifth in the Monday, August 5, floor exercise final before Team USA filed an inquiry about one of her skills, claiming she performed a tour jeté full. Judges ultimately accepted the inquiry, bumping Chiles up from fifth place to third. Biles, 27, earned a silver medal in the event, while Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade took home the gold.
Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu sat in third as Chiles’ inquiry was being evaluated. She began to celebrate on the floor with her country’s flag before realizing she did not end up winning the bronze. During the broadcast, Barbosu, 18, was seen walking away from the event in tears.
“Thank you to everyone who encouraged me before, during, and after the competition,” Barbosu wrote via her Instagram Story on Monday.
During Monday’s competition, Team Romania submitted an inquiry about Sabrina Maneca-Voinea’s performance, but her score remained unchanged. Mihai Covaliu, president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, sent a letter of protest to the Gymnastics Federation in a Tuesday Facebook post, asking for Maneca-Voinea’s score to be looked at once more. The post also revealed that the 17-year-old made a “public declaration to give up practicing this sport” as a result of the loss.
“The way of appreciating the score given and the refusal to present the reasons/evidence to reject the objection submitted within the period provided for by the regulation seriously damages both the image of international gymnastics, but especially affects the athlete, endangering his mental health,” Covaliu, 46, wrote.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu later announced he would be skipping the Paris Olympics closing ceremony in protest. “I decided not to attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, following the scandalous situation in the gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonorable manner,” he wrote via Facebook on Tuesday. “To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal, which neither the coaches nor the top technicians understand, is totally unacceptable!”
