Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu was awarded her Olympic bronze medal in a ceremony held in Bucharest on Friday, marking the end of a controversy that initially saw the medal awarded to U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles before it was revoked.
After receiving her medal, Barbosu expressed her surprise at its weight, jokingly adding, “I did not expect the medal to be so heavy, but I would wear it day and night if this is what it takes to have it.”
The bronze medal was reallocated to Barbosu following a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last week, which voided an appeal by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the August 5 floor exercise final in Paris. The appeal had initially placed Chiles in third, pushing Barbosu to fourth.
Chiles had participated in the original medal ceremony after the appeal, which led to an uproar in Romania, a country with a rich history in gymnastics. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation requested a review of the U.S. team’s appeal procedure. CAS ruled in favor of Barbosu, citing that the U.S. appeal had been filed four seconds beyond the one-minute deadline.
Following the medal ceremony, Barbosu credited the resolution of the controversy to the support of her federation and legal team, saying, “The resolution was possible with the help of the federation and the law firm who did not give up on us athletes and fought for us.”
Barbosu, thrilled with her victory, expressed her hopes to continue representing Romania at the highest level and to bring home more medals. Her achievement marks Romania’s first women’s Olympic medal in gymnastics since the 2012 London Games, a significant accomplishment for a nation that has struggled in recent years to regain its former glory in the sport.
Despite the controversy, USA Gymnastics has announced that it will continue its efforts to allow Chiles to keep her medal. Inquiries, like the one that led to the controversy, are a standard part of gymnastics competitions, where athletes or coaches can request judges to review routines for accuracy. However, the situation at the Paris Olympics has been difficult for all athletes involved, further intensified by online abuse directed at the gymnasts. Chiles, who has faced racially charged comments on social media, described the decision to strip her of the bronze as “unjust.”
Barbosu acknowledged the sadness surrounding the medal controversy and expressed her disappointment with the officiating, saying, “We expected the referees and staff at the Olympics to do their job properly.” Nevertheless, she sent her best wishes to the U.S. gymnasts, adding, “I am thinking of them even if today I got the medal.”
