Jordan Chiles Loses Bronze Medal After CAS Ruling

Jordan Chiles, the American gymnast has lost the bronze medal she earned in the women’s floor final at the recent competition. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) confirmed that Romania’s Ana Barbosu has moved up from fourth to third place following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). CAS upheld the Romanian Olympic Committee’s appeal which argued that the US team submitted their inquiry about Chiles’ score outside the allowed one-minute window, making it invalid.

CAS reinstated Chiles’ original score of 13.666, which demoted her to fifth place. USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee expressed disappointment and condemned the online harassment Chiles faced during the appeal process. Chiles, 23, who had previously won gold in the women’s team event, reacted by posting broken heart emojis on Instagram and announcing her temporary departure from social media for mental health reasons.

Jordan Chiles initially scored 13.666, placing her fifth and allowing Barbosu, who scored 13.7, to believe she had secured the bronze. After Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, submitted an inquiry, officials temporarily adjusted Chiles’ score to 13.766, putting her in third place and cutting short Barbosu’s celebration. Romania’s prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, labeled the situation “scandalous” and threatened to boycott the closing ceremony.

CAS ruled the inquiry was untimely, having been submitted four seconds past the deadline, and reinstated Chiles’ original score. The IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Barbosu and coordinate with both the US and Romanian committees on the medal return and reallocation ceremony. Chiles’ teammates, including Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee, voiced their support. Biles shared words of encouragement, and Lee criticized the handling of the situation.