American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of her bronze medal from the women’s floor final on Monday.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) confirmed that Romania’s Ana Barbosu has been promoted from fourth to third place following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). CAS upheld an appeal by the Romanian Olympic Committee, which argued that an inquiry by the U.S. team about Chiles’ score exceeded the one-minute time limit for such appeals and should therefore be dismissed.
Chiles’ initial score has now been reinstated, which places her back in fifth position.
In response, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee expressed their devastation over the decision and condemned the “consistent, utterly baseless, and extremely hurtful attacks” that Chiles has faced on social media throughout the appeal process.
The Incident
During Monday’s final, Chiles initially received a score of 13.666, which placed her fifth in the standings. Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu, who scored 13.7, believed she had secured the bronze medal. However, after an inquiry by Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi regarding the difficulty rating of her routine, officials raised Chiles’ score to 13.766, pushing her into third place.
The recalibration upset Barbosu, who had already begun celebrating her medal, prompting a protest from the Romanian team. Romania’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, described the situation as “scandalous” and even threatened to boycott the closing ceremony.
The Romanian Olympic Committee appealed to CAS on the grounds that the U.S. team’s inquiry was submitted four seconds beyond the one-minute time limit, rendering it untimely. CAS ruled in favor of the Romanian appeal on Saturday, and FIG confirmed the reinstatement of Chiles’ original score.
The International Olympic Committee announced that the bronze medal will be reallocated to Barbosu and that it is coordinating with the U.S. team regarding the return of the medal, as well as with the Romanian Olympic Committee to arrange the reallocation ceremony.
In a statement, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee emphasized that the inquiry into Chiles’ floor routine was made in good faith and in compliance with FIG rules, with the intent of ensuring accurate scoring. They also condemned the online abuse directed at Chiles, stating, “No athlete should be subjected to such treatment. We denounce these attacks and stand by Jordan for her integrity both on and off the competition floor.”
Chiles’ teammate Simone Biles, who won silver in the event, shared an iconic moment on the podium when she and Chiles bowed to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who took gold. Biles later showed her support for Chiles on social media, writing, “Sending you so much love Jordan, Keep your chin up Olympic champ, we love you.”
Fellow U.S. gold medalist Sunisa Lee also expressed her outrage, posting, “All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges? Completely unacceptable, this is awful and I’m gutted for Jordan.”
