U.S. gymnastics officials are contesting a ruling that led to an Olympic request for gymnast Jordan Chiles to return her bronze medal from the recent floor exercise final. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Saturday that a late inquiry from Chiles’ coaches, which had boosted her score and elevated her from fifth to third place, was submitted too late. This prompted the International Gymnastics Federation to alter the official results, moving Ana Barbosu of Romania, who originally placed fourth, into the bronze medal position.
In response to this decision, USA Gymnastics announced it had submitted video evidence indicating that Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, had filed the inquiry within the one-minute limit mandated by competition rules. The video purportedly shows that Landi requested the inquiry just 47 seconds after the score was posted, followed by a second request at 55 seconds.
Chiles, who performed last in the final, initially received a score of 13.666. Barbosu, who scored 13.700, mistakenly celebrated what she believed was a bronze win. Following the inquiry, judges granted Chiles an additional tenth of a point for her routine, raising her score to 13.766 and pushing Barbosu to fourth.
Romanian officials contested the ruling, claiming the inquiry was submitted too late. An independent court sided with them, reverting Chiles’ score to its initial value of 13.666. Consequently, the International Olympic Committee announced it would reallocate the medals, officially placing Chiles in fifth and Barbosu in third.
It remains uncertain how the CAS will respond to the new evidence presented by USA Gymnastics. The floor exercise medal ceremony was particularly notable as it marked the first occasion in Olympic gymnastics history where all three medalists were Black. The event was highlighted by a viral moment of sportsmanship, where Chiles and teammate Simone Biles acknowledged gold medalist Rebeca Andrade from Brazil.
The incident has raised questions regarding the officiating and judging during the event. Critics have also pointed out a potential third error related to the scoring of Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who finished in fifth place after receiving a penalty for stepping out of bounds. Video evidence suggested she remained in bounds, which, without the penalty, would have granted her a score of 13.800, securing her a bronze medal.
In addition to challenging Chiles’ inquiry, Romanian officials had sought a rescore of Maneca-Voinea’s routine and requested that Chiles, Barbosu, and Maneca-Voinea all receive bronze medals. However, the arbitration court rejected these requests.
U.S. gymnast Suni Lee expressed her disappointment on social media, highlighting the need for accountability within the judging process. While the Olympics have seen instances of returned medals, these often relate to doping violations. In disputes over scoring, the IOC has previously permitted athletes to share contested medals, as seen in the figure skating controversy during the 2002 Winter Olympics and the ski cross incident at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where athletes ended up sharing bronze medals after legal reviews.