Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics was a dramatic affair. After her coaches questioned the initial difficulty score, which placed her in fifth, judges revised it, adding 0.1 points and boosting her to third place.
However, the Romanian Gymnastics federation and their gymnasts Ana Maria Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who initially finished in third and fourth, challenged the inquiry submitted by Chiles and her coach. The dispute, involving USA Gymnastics and the International Olympic Committee, went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The Romanians argued that Chiles’ inquiry was submitted after the one-minute deadline following her routine, coming in one minute and four seconds late. They also requested that the penalty applied to Maneca-Voinea be removed, proposing that all three gymnasts share the bronze.
On Aug. 10, CAS ruled that Chiles’ inquiry was indeed beyond the deadline, deeming it invalid and reinstating her original score. The other requests were rejected.
The International Gymnastics Federation will now determine the final floor exercise ranking, based on CAS’s decision.
In a statement, USA Gymnastics expressed their disappointment: “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 [the International Gymnastics Federation] rules to ensure accurate scoring. Throughout the appeal process, Jordan 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.”
