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| Jordan Chiles displays her medal |
American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of the bronze medal she won in the women's floor exercise final at the Paris Olympics.
The decision came after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of the Romanian Olympic Committee's grievance regarding Chiles' score.
In the original final results, Chiles placed fifth with a score of 13.666. However, after an inquiry by her coach regarding her difficulty rating, her score was revised to 13.766, elevating her to third place and pushing Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea to fourth and fifth respectively.
The Romanian team filed a protest, arguing that the appeal submitted by the U.S. team exceeded the one-minute time frame allowed for such challenges. CAS agreed with this argument and stated that it is the responsibility of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to decide the final rankings and medal allocations.
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| ….at the floor exercise |
As a result of the ruling, Barbosu has been upgraded from fourth to third place, reclaiming the bronze medal. Chiles' original score has now been reinstated, dropping her back into fifth place.
USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said they were "devastated" by the decision and condemned the "consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks" that Chiles has received on social media during the appeal process, stating that "no athlete should be subject to such treatment."
Chiles, 23, who won gold in the women's team event, posted four broken heart emojis on her Instagram story and later wrote: "I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you."
Chiles' sister, Jazmin, has spoken out against the "vile" racism her sister has endured on social media, including being called racial slurs. She emphasized that Chiles did not lose her medal due to cheating or doping, but rather due to a procedural error by the judges.
Chiles' team-mate Simone Biles won silver in the event, with Brazil's Rebeca Andrade taking gold.
On the podium, Biles and Chiles bowed down to Andrade in an iconic moment of the Games.
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| Biles (l) and Chiles (r) bow down to Andrade (m) in an iconic moment of the Games. |
Biles posted her support for Chiles, writing: "Sending you so much love Jordan, Keep your chin up Olympic champ, we love you."
Fellow US gold medal-winning gymnast Sunisa Lee posted: "All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges? Completely unacceptable, this is awful and I’m gutted for Jordan.”
The stripping of Chiles' medal has been met with criticism, with some arguing that it showcases the incompetence of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIG.
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