Topline
U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles lost her bronze medal on the floor Sunday morning after the International Olympic Committee and Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled her appeal of the event’s scoring was invalid, and the bronze medal will be given to Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu.
The International Olympic Committee said Sunday it will collect a bronze medal awarded to U.S. … [+]
Key Facts
Chiles competed in the individual floor event last Monday and originally received a score of 13.666, putting her in fifth place behind Barbosu and another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.
Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi appealed the score, saying the difficulty was undervalued, and won, which added 0.1 to her score and bumped her into third place, taking the bronze away from Barbosu—who had already begun celebrating her finish.
But after another appeal by Romania, on Saturday the Court of Arbitration for Sport said the inquiry on behalf of Chiles was filed “after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline”—coming four seconds too late—and therefore invalid.
The International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) then determined Barbosu would be in third place.
The International Olympic Committee confirmed the ruling Sunday, saying it will arrange for the U.S. to return the bronze medal and reallocate it to Barbosu.
USA gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said in a statement Saturday the inquiry into Chiles’ difficulty value was “filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules,” adding they stand by Chiles, who has faced “utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks” as a result of the scoring issue.
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Key Background
After Chiles floor routine on Monday, Landi filed the inquiry into her difficulty value—which is the total value of the skills performed in a routine and is added to an execution score to get the final score—arguing the judges did not give Chiles full credit for a leap in her routine. The leap involved performing a split while rotating 540 degrees, and the judges did not give her credit as they felt she did not complete a full turn. But the inquiry was accepted and Chiles received full credit for completing the skill. It’s not uncommon for coaches to file inquiries over scores, though it is possible they result in a lower score. After the scoring change, Chiles praised Barbosu, saying she was “very proud” of her and calling her an “amazing athlete.”
Chief Critic
Chiles’ teammates on the gold-medal winning team offered her support after the decision, and at least one criticized the situation. Simone Biles posted a picture of her and Chiles on her Instagram and said, “keep your chin up olympic champ! we love you!” Sunisa Lee, another Team USA gymnast, said on social media “all this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?? completely unacceptable.” She continued that she was “gutted” for Chiles, who she said will “always be an olympic champion.” Team USA member Jade Carey offered a similar sentiment, saying on her Instagram “don’t punish the athlete for someone else’s mistake.”
Crucial Quote
Chiles posted four broken heart emojis on her Instagram story after the Court of Arbitration announced its decision, and she said: “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health.”
Surprising Fact
In their appeal letter, the Romanian athletes requested three bronze medals be given out—not that Chiles’ be taken away. The appeal—which also requested Maneca-Voinea’s score be raised over an apparent scoring error (she was penalized for stepping out of bounds, but a replay seems to show she didn’t)—sought an adjusted ranking of the scores that placed “all three athletes in 3rd position and the allocation of medals to all three athletes.” The FIG, however, adjusted the score and left it up to the IOC to determine whether to reallocate the medal, the Associated Press reported.
What To Watch For
Comments from Barbosu. After the initial controversy, she told reporters she didn’t want to “Start picking on other athletes” and “the problems lie with the judges, with their calculations and decisions.” She had not issued any comment on the reallocation of the bronze as of 10 a.m. EDT Sunday.
Further Reading
Israel and Hamas. Previously, she has covered a range of topics from Donald Trump’s legal battles to Taylor Swift’s path to becoming a billionaire. She joined Forbes in April 2022 and is based in Colorado. Prior to joining Forbes, Bohannon covered local news and spent time at the Fort Collins Coloradoan and the Arizona Republic. She graduated with a degree in journalism from Creighton University and has an MA in investigative journalism from Arizona State. Follow Bohannon for continued coverage of pop culture, politics and updates on the war in Gaza.
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