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The International Olympic Committee said on Sunday that U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of her bronze medal on floor exercise and must return the hardware, upholding findings that a coach’s appeal that got her on the podium shouldn’t have been allowed.
On Saturday, CAS ruled that the appeal by U.S. coach Cecile Landi to have .1 added to Chiles’ score that vaulted the 23-year-old into third place came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). In its decision, CAS wrote that the initial finishing order should be restored, meaning that Romania’s Ana Bărbosu, 18, would replace Chiles as the bronze medalist. Her teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea would be fourth and Chiles fifth. The IOC on Sunday said it would abide by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that Landi’s protest was made 64 seconds after scores were posted. The deadline for such action is one minute.
Chiles, 23, had initially finished fifth in the competition on Monday before U.S. coach Cecile Landi successfully lobbied that her athlete’s difficulty score had been undercredited. Officials on the scene agreed and adjusted Chiles’ score by 0.1 points to 13.766, which boosted her above two Romanian athletes, triggering an angry reaction from that delegation; with Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he’d refuse to attend the Olympic closing ceremony in protest.
The IOC said in a statement on Sunday: “Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu (Romania). We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee pushed back a few hours later and said it would be filing an appeal, sharing in a statement: “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. Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves. We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.”
USA Gymnastics also refuted the claim, saying head coach Cecile Landi filed for the inquiry in 47 seconds, within the one-minute window. The organization said Sunday that it has submitted time-stamped video evidence: “the video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it.”
Bărbosu said in a statement that she sympathizes with the fifth-place Chiles and the fourth-place Sabrina Maneca-Voinea: “Sabrina, Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling because I’ve been through the same. But I know you’ll come back stronger .. I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share the same podium.”
USA Gymnastics said in a statement: “We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise. The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.” They added that Chiles has been “subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment, We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”
Chiles posted four broken-heart emoji on her Instagram, and wrote: “I am taking the time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you.”
Editorial credit: Celso Pupo / Shutterstock.com
