The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently announced that U.S. gold medalist gymnast Jordan Chiles will be stripped of the bronze medal she won during this year’s floor exercise event.
Announced yesterday, the medal will now reportedly be given to Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu. The IOC’s latest ruling comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s investigation into her coach’s appeal at the time of the event found that it was made 64 seconds after the floor exercise routines ended – only four seconds past the minute allowed.
Cecile Landi, Chiles’ personal coach, appealed to have an element restored in Chiles’ performance; the judges accepted the ruling, which increased her performance from 13.666 by 0.1 point, putting her above Bărbosu’s 13.700 score.
The review of the event was set into motion by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation who asked the CAS to look into Landi’s appeal. The Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu also got involved, claiming he wouldn’t attend the Olympic closing ceremony in protest.
With the latest decision, however, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee will file an appeal of its own, defending Chile’s bronze medal.
Forever THAT GIRL ❤️ pic.twitter.com/U6ylsOxSuK
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 11, 2024
“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,” said the statement. “The initial error occurred in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision. As a result, we were not properly represented or afforded the opportunity to present our case comprehensively.”
Chiles remains the only Olympian to have had her medal stripped due to the judges’ errors. From 1905 to 2022, 159 medals were stripped—all but 11 due to serious offences such as doping.
Following the announcement, a wave of support came for Chiles with fellow gymnasts Simone Biles- whom she was on the podium with at the event in what was considered the first all Black women Olympic gymnastics podium- and Sunisa Lee posting in support of their teammate.
Chiles’ sister, Jazmin, also took to Instagram to express her anger with the entire situation, writing “Racism is real, it exists, it is alive and well.” Jazmin clarified that she was referring to the racist comments that her sister has been receiving throughout the entire situation, listing the derogatory names she’s been called. Her mother, Gina, also took to social media.
“The racist disgusting comments are still happening in 2024. I’m tired of people who say it no longer exists,” she wrote on social media. “My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched…and she’s being called disgusting things.”
Posting alongside four broken hearts, Jordan herself has since announced that she’ll be taking a break from social media for her mental health.
