What’s Going On With Jordan Chiles and Her Bronze Medal?

It’s been a “difficult time” since the Olympics, she said on the Today show.

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Nov 11, 2024 - 13:00
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What’s Going On With Jordan Chiles and Her Bronze Medal?
Photo: Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

On Saturday, August 10, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that American gymnast Jordan Chiles might not be a bronze-medal winner for the gymnastics-floor-exercise final after an initial inquiry on her score. Chiles is appealing the ruling to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, and on November 11, she gave her first TV interview since the Olympics. Read on for the latest developments, including Chiles’s own response to the Court of Arbitration for Sport not reopening the case.

What happened on the day of competition?

During the finals, Chiles was initially given a 13.666 score for her performance in floor gymnastics. However, her Team USA coach, Cecile Landi, submitted an inquiry on her score, giving her a 0.1-point boost and earning her a bronze medal at the event. She then replaced Romania’s Ana Bărbosu and Sabrina Voinea, bumping them to fourth and fifth place.

How did people react to the original decision?

Not well! Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu protested and did not attend the Closing Ceremony over the treatment of Romania’s athletes after the decision was announced. On August 9, Chiles’s mother, Gina, also responded to the racist comments Jordan has received since she won her medal.

Why did they overturn the decision?

CAS claims that Coach Landi’s inquiry happened one minute and four seconds after the score was called, a.k.a. four seconds too late. However, at the time, the inquiry was accepted, and the committee changed Chiles’s score accordingly. However, five days after the competition, they voided the original appeal, restoring the original scores of the lineup.

What’s happening with the medal?

The IOC decided Sunday that Chiles must return her medal. The “IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in a statement obtained by NBC News. “We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.” As of November 11, Chiles told the Today show that she still has the medal.

What have Chiles and Bărbosu said?

In her first TV interview, Chiles opened up about her “difficult time” since the Olympics. “It’s hard to tell yourself that everything is going to be fine when you know, you feel like you literally, like you didn’t do anything wrong,” Chiles told Hoda Kotb on Today. “Everything was very right, everything was in the time that it needed to be. And for them to come back and say that it was four seconds late when we’ve had proof, we’ve had everything that really can show that everything was right. So I think now it’s just the support that’s been around me, that I’ve been like, Okay, I can’t control anything that’s happening on the outside, I can only control what my truth is. And I know what the truth is, and I know that we were right in everything that we were doing.”

Chiles also told Today that she hasn’t spoken to Bărbosu, whom she called an “amazing” athlete. “Whatever she’s going through, I’m very, very sorry,” Chiles said. “I’m going through the exact same thing.”

After the Court of Arbitration for Sport said it would not review the case, Chiles expressed disappointment statement. “I have no words,” she posted on Instagram August 15. “This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey.” Chiles went on to decry the racism she’s faced while stating she intends to keep competing and fighting for her medal. “I am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career. Believe me when I say I have had many. I will approach this challenge as I have others — and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing.”

It’s fair to say no one is happy with the medal switch-ups. Chiles posted broken-heart emoji online with a message that she’ll be taking a break from social media for her “mental health,” hinting at the overturned decision. Simone Biles posted on Instagram Stories in support of her teammate, “sending you so much love Jordan. keep your chin up Olympic champ! we love you!” Women’s sports advocate Flavor Flav also sent a tweet of support.

The 18-year-old Romanian gymnast shared a message about the decision hours before the Closing Ceremony on August 11. “This situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation,” Bărbosu wrote on her Instagram Story. “We athletes are not to be blamed, and the hate directed to us is painful. I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world.”

On August 12, former Olympian Aly Raisman addressed the “cruel” situation, saying the judges “made a mistake,” and called for more transparency in the future. “The judges did make a mistake,” she said on the Today show. “They put the inquiry in, the judges accepted it, which meant that they felt that it was under that minute.”

What about on a more official level?

USA Gymnastics has submitted what it claims is timestamped proof that Landi submitted her inquiry request 47 seconds after the ruling, well within the one-minute deadline. “The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision,” the statement reads, “and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it.” Which then raises the questions: Why wasn’t this footage previously available, and what did the tribunal base the previous ruling on?

Despite that, the Court of Arbitration for Sport is not reopening the case, the Athletic reported, clearing the way for Chiles’s bronze medal to go to Bărbosu. USA Gymnastics said it was “deeply disappointed” in the CAS decision and plans to appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

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