Gymnastics fans are wondering whether Jordan Chiles will have to return her bronze medal.
The Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) confirmed on Saturday, August 10, that they improperly granted Team USA’s inquiry regarding Chiles’ floor routine, reverting her score back to the initial 13.666. The request bumped Chiles, 23, up to third place from fifth — but that doesn’t mean she’ll lose her medal.
“The Applicants sought a ruling from the CAS Ad hoc Division concluding that the Inquiry was filed beyond the 1-minute deadline specified in art. 8.5 of FIG 2024 Technical Regulations (i.e. 1 minute and 4 seconds) and dismissing the Inquiry as untimely, thereby upholding the initial score of 13.666 and adjusting the final ranking accordingly,” the statement reads. “The Applicants also sought a conclusion that the penalty of 0.1 for execution imposed on Ms Sabrina Maneca-Voinea was given without basis, thereby increasing her score to 13.800, and that the final ranking be adjusted accordingly.”
However, Team Romania apparently requested to allow both their gymnasts and Chiles to be official bronze medalists, sharing third place. “Subsidiarily, the Applicants requested a ruling adjusting the ranking of Ms Ana Maria Bărbosu, Ms Sabina Maneca-Voinea and Ms Jordan Chiles by placing all three athletes in 3rd position and the allocation of medals to all three athletes,” the statement adds.
Per the CAS, it is now up to the International Gymnastics Federation to “determine the ranking of the Final of the women’s Floor exercise and assign the medal(s) in accordance with the above decision.”
Chiles, for her part, appeared to subtly address the situation, sharing a trio of broken heart emojis on her Instagram Story.
“I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health,” she wrote. “Thank you.”
During the Monday, August 5, finals of the floor exercise event, Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles and Bărbosu were initially named the respective gold, silver and bronze medalists. Chiles, for her part, placed fifth before Team USA asked the judges to reexamine her score based on the level of difficulty of a specific leap. The inquiry was granted, boosting Chiles’ score to third place.
Team Romania, meanwhile, wanted to open an investigation after their own inquiry into Maneca-Voinea’s routine was denied.
USA Gymnastics and its athletes were “devastated” by the CAS ruling.
“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,” a Saturday statement read. “Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media.”
The note added, “No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”
Chiles’ Olympic teammate Suni Lee felt the same, reposting the statement onto her Instagram Story.
“All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?? Completely unacceptable,” Lee, 21, wrote on Saturday. “This is awful and I’m gutted for you, Jordan. I got your back forever, Jo. You will ALWAYS be an Olympic champion.”
The bronze was Chiles’ first individual Olympic medal. She also has a gold and a silver medal in the team event from the Paris and Tokyo Games, respectively.
