American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of the bronze medal she earned in Monday’s women’s floor final. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced that Romania’s Ana Barbosu has been upgraded from fourth to third place following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
CAS upheld an appeal by the Romanian Olympic Committee, which argued that an inquiry submitted by the US team regarding Chiles’ score was filed outside the one-minute limit for such appeals and should be dismissed. As a result, Chiles’ original score has been reinstated, placing her in fifth position.
USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee expressed their devastation over the decision and condemned the “consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks” Chiles has faced on social media during the appeal process.
Chiles, 23, who previously 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.”
Initially, Chiles scored 13.666 in the floor final, positioning her in fifth place and leading Barbosu, who scored 13.7, to believe she had secured the bronze medal. However, following an inquiry by Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, regarding her difficulty rating, officials adjusted Chiles’ score to 13.766, placing her third. This adjustment upset Barbosu, who had begun celebrating her medal, and led to a protest from the Romanian team.
Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu described the situation as “scandalous” and threatened to boycott the closing ceremony. The Romanian Olympic Committee’s successful appeal to CAS was based on the claim that the inquiry was “untimely,” having been submitted four seconds after the one-minute deadline. CAS subsequently reinstated Chiles’ score of 13.666 on Saturday, which FIG later confirmed.
The International Olympic Committee has stated that it will reallocate the bronze medal to Barbosu and is coordinating with the US team regarding the return of the medal, as well as with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss the reallocation ceremony.
USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee maintained that the inquiry into the difficulty value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise was filed in good faith and believed it complied with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring. They further remarked on the online abuse directed at Chiles, stating, “No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”
Chiles’ teammate, Simone Biles, won silver in the event, while Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade secured gold. On the podium, Biles and Chiles bowed to Andrade in a memorable moment of the Games.
Biles expressed 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 added, “All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges? Completely unacceptable, this is awful and I’m gutted for Jordan.”