U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal victory is now in jeopardy following a ruling from an independent arbitration court that addressed a late inquiry related to the Olympic gymnastics floor exercise final. The court determined that the inquiry, which had led to an increase in Chiles’ score, was submitted too late.
During last Monday’s final in Paris, Chiles initially scored 13.666, placing her fifth behind Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who both received scores of 13.7. After performing last, Chiles’ score adjustment led her coaches to file an inquiry alleging that her score was too low, which ultimately increased her score by 0.1 points to 13.766, moving her into third place and awarding her the bronze medal.
However, the Romanian gymnastics federation lodged a protest with the governing body of gymnastics, the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), against the revised score. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the inquiry had been filed after the acceptable timeframe, leading to the reinstatement of Chiles’ original score and dropping her to fifth place.
Following the CAS decision, FIG updated the competition results, confirming Barbosu as third place. The court did not grant the Romanian request for all three athletes to share the bronze.
Both USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee expressed their dismay over the ruling, stating that the inquiry was believed to have been filed in good faith and consistent with FIG’s regulations.
Chiles expressed her heartbreak on Instagram, announcing her decision to step back from social media for her mental well-being. USA Gymnastics and the USOPC condemned the online harassment directed at her during the appeal, emphasizing that no athlete should endure such treatment.