PARIS – Jordan Chiles may have to return the bronze medal he won at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Saturday that the panel of judges had improperly given the final sanction in the women’s floor exercise. An investigation that increased Chiles’ score And moved her to bronze medal status. A Swiss court found that Chiles’ appeal was submitted past the one-minute deadline for such requests Therefore should not have been granted.
As a result, CAS said, Chiles should have scored 13.666 in the event – which would have put her fifth, just shy of the Olympic podium. But will Chiles retain her bronze medal or rule the finish line?
“The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastics (FIG) will determine the ranking of the women’s floor exercise final and allocate the medal(s) according to the above result,” CAS said. its verdict.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesman for FIG, the international federation that oversees gymnastics, said only that “a statement will be published on the FIG website in due course.”
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A spokesman for the International Olympic Committee did not respond to a request for comment.
USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Team said in a joint statement They argued they were “devastated” by Saturday’s ruling, arguing that the investigation into Chiles’ score was “filed in good faith and … in accordance with FIG rules.”
“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subjected to constant, completely baseless and highly offensive attacks on social media. No athlete should be subjected to such treatment,” the two governing bodies said in their statement.
“We condemn the attacks and those who support or instigate them. We applaud Jordan for his integrity on and off the field of competition, and we stand by him.”
Chiles, 23, said she was unaware her coaches Cecile and Laurent Landy had appealed on her behalf immediately after the event, but she has been the target of scathing messages on social media claiming she “stole” the bronze. From Ana Barbosu, Romania.
Chiles refers to the criticism he received for posting emojis of a pending CAS case or broken hearts. on his Instagram story.
“I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health,” she wrote in a second message on Saturday.
The news comes less than a week after that Dramatic final day of Olympic gymnastics competition.
In the last routine of the last event, Chiles finished fifth, a fraction of a point behind Barbosu and another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Vonia. They had scored 13,7000. But then, in what his coaches admitted was a metaphorical Hail Mary, the US submitted a probe to the jury, essentially asking them to take a second look at the sanctions they imposed against Chile.
After reviewing the questionable element, known as the Tour Jet Full, the judges reversed the deduction and increased Chiles’ score by a tenth of a point – which elevated him to bronze.
“I hope not, but what do you have to lose?” Laurent Landy later spoke about the investigation. “She was already off the stage, so even if they dropped the score, it wouldn’t have been too bad, you know? We tried.”
“I was in the same angle as Judge, and I felt better than she did (her tour jet was packed) all the other meets, so what the heck? We might as well try.”
The last-minute adjustment was a heartbreaking sight for Barbosu, who took to the floor with the Romanian flag convinced he had won bronze. When the trial was declared a success, he dropped the flag and left the stage.
In the following days, the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolagu He said he would not attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Games Because of the verdict, former Romanian gymnast Nadia Comanesi also criticized the handling of the appeal.
“I can’t believe we’re playing with athletes dealing with mental health and emotions like this,” Comaneci said Wrote in XFormerly known as Twitter.
Romanian Gymnastics Federation He then filed several appeals to the CAS, Challenges the outcome of the event. One of the appeals included a hearing submitted on behalf of Chiles, which the Romanian federation said was filed within four seconds of the 60-second time limit. Another appeal sought reversal of the fine imposed against Voinea for breach of statute of limitations.
The CAS granted its first appeal, but dismissed the second.
It’s not immediately clear what kind of help USA Gymnastics or the USOPC can offer moving forward, though CAS decisions are typically only appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal — which reviews them only on limited and mostly procedural grounds.
Chiles said he was proud to win an individual medal at the Paris Games. After helping lead the United States to silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she again played a significant role in the Americans winning gold in the team finals this year.
“I’m on cloud nine,” he told reporters after the end of the floor exercise. “It’s my first (Olympic) individual event (apparatus) final in my second Olympics. I’m speechless.”
Even Chiles He finished fourth in the all-around qualifying round But she was excluded from the final due to a rule in gymnastics that limits the field to two gymnasts per country. Although she placed fourth in the all-around, she finished third among American gymnasts in the backstroke. The eventual gold medalist was Simone Biles and bronze medalist Suni Lee.
Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on social media @Tom_Schad.
