Aug 5, 2024; Paris, France; Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles of the United States celebrate after winning silver and bronze in floor exercise on day three of the gymnastics event finals during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports American gymnast Jordan Chiles must return the bronze medal she won in the women’s floor competition earlier this week at the Paris Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said Sunday.
Ana Barbosu of Romania will be elevated to the bronze medal. Chiles will fall to fifth place in the floor event.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said it would appeal.
“The USOPC will be appealing the recent decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding Jordan Chiles,” the organization said in a statement Sunday. “We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed.”
The IOC’s edict came after the CAS ruled Saturday that Chiles’ coaches didn’t submit an inquiry to challenge the judges’ score during the competition in a timely fashion.
Under international gymnastics rules, inquiries must be submitted within one minute of the scoring. In Chiles’ case, it took 64 seconds.
The IOC said in a statement that it would be in touch with the Olympic committees of both Romania and the United States to discuss the “reallocation” of the medal.
“The IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu (Romania),” the statement said. “We are in touch with the (National Olympic Committee) of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
Chiles’ score on the floor was 13.666, but her coaches filed an inquiry over the tally. Upon review, her total was raised to 13.766, good enough to edge out Barbosu, who scored 13.700. With the upgraded score, Chiles also jumped over another Romanian, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.
The CAS recommended to FIG, the international gymnastics federation, that Barbosu should be awarded the bronze medal, and FIG moved Saturday to reinstate the initial results. The IOC had the final say about the medal allocation.
USA Gymnastics, in a statement posted to social media on Saturday, was disheartened by the ruling.
“We are devastated by Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise,” the organization said. “The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.”
Chiles, a 23-year-old from Vancouver, Wash., earned a gold medal in the team competition. She said after the floor event that she was elated to have won an individual medal.
“There were so many emotions, so many things going through my mind when I found out I got that bronze medal,” Chiles told “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, the morning after winning the bronze. “I couldn’t be more proud of myself.”
USA Gymnastics said in its statement Saturday that Chiles had been “subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment.”
Saturday night, Chiles posted on her Instagram stories a series of broken hearts on a black background, followed by this statement: “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.”
–Field Level Media
