PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 5: Jordan Chiles of Team Untied States celebrates after being awarded a bronze medal in the Women's Floor Exercise Final at Bercy Arena during the Paris 2024 Olympics on August 5, 2024. (Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
On August 5, Jordan Chiles became a bronze medalist in the women’s gymnastics floor final at the 2024 Olympics. That changed less than a week later when a court ruling resulted in a score change, bumping her from third to fifth place. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) followed up by stripping Jordan of her medal. In response, USA Gymnastics has appealed in a letter that cites new video evidence!
As previously reported, the score change means Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea are now in third and fourth place with matching scores of 13.700. Meanwhile, Jordan Chiles’ score has been reverted to 13.600, placing her in fifth.
Last Monday, Chiles won the bronze medal after her coach appealed the score, seeking a 0.1 boost in her difficulty rating. The judges awarded it, closing the event with Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade winning gold, Biles winning silver, and Jordan Chiles winning bronze.
On Saturday (August 10), a Court of Arbitration (CAS) found that Coach Celile Landi’s on-floor appeal came in one minute and four seconds after Ana and Sabrina came in third and fourth. The rules restrict inquiries to a one-minute mark, so the court ruled to revert to the original scores.
Now, the International Olympic Committee has already agreed to honor the score change by awarding Ana Barbosu with Jordan’s stripped title and medal in another ceremony.
“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 IOC said in a statement, per CNN.
USA Gymnastics’ initial statement on Saturday said it filed its on-floor inquiry in “accordance with FIG rules.”
They also highlighted that Jordan Chiles has received “consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media” following the floor exercise outcome on August 5.
In a new update, the entity filed a letter of appeal against the court’s ruling to revert the score. They submitted video evidence that shows Coach Landi submitted her inquiry request 47 seconds after the score went up.
“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.”
USA Gymnastics wants Jordan Chiles’ 13.766 score to be reinstated, along with a revision of the CAS ruling.
Meanwhile, ahead of the Olympics closing on Sunday (August 12), Ana spoke out about the score changes, per PEOPLE. She directed her Instagram Stories message specifically to Jordan Chiles and Sabrina.
“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.”
She said that winning is her “true dream.” Also, Ana blamed the “persons in charge” for the disrespect of “regulation” for the “situation.” Additionally, Ana shared that athletes should not “be blamed,” saying that the “hate directed at” them is “painful.”
“I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism and the true value of the world,” Ana added.
Jordan Chiles, however, has not spoken out about the IOC’s decision to strip and request the return of the bronze medal. Soon after the court’s ruling to revert the score on Saturday, Chiles shared that she’d be taking a social media break for her “mental health.” Meanwhile, her sister Jazmine Chiles shared heartbreaking words about the change, partially blaming “racism” and the judges.
Chiles’ Olympic teammates Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee also spoke out about the court’s decision to revert the scores.
