U.S. Gymnast Jordan Chiles Stripped of Olympic Bronze Medal After Court Ruling

U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles will be forced to return the bronze medal she won at the 2024 Paris Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of an appeal by the Romanian gymnastics team.

Just hours before the closing ceremony, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the medal would be reallocated to Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu following the court’s decision.

The controversy began during the women’s floor exercise final on August 5, when Chiles initially received a score of 13.666, placing her fifth behind Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who both scored 13.700. Bǎrbosu was initially awarded the bronze through a tiebreaker based on her higher execution score.

However, Team USA’s gymnastics coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi filed an appeal, arguing that Chiles’ difficulty score had been incorrectly calculated. The judges agreed, increasing her score by 0.1, which elevated her above the Romanian gymnasts and secured her the bronze medal.

The Romanian team quickly filed their own appeal, asserting that the U.S. appeal was submitted outside the one-minute window allowed for such challenges. CAS sided with the Romanian team, determining that Team USA’s appeal was filed one minute and four seconds after Chiles’ score was posted, exceeding the time limit.

As a result, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) reinstated the original scores, placing Bǎrbosu back in third place, Maneca-Voinea in fourth, and Chiles in fifth. FIG spokesperson Meike Behrensen emphasized that the IOC is responsible for the reallocation of medals.

In a joint statement, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee expressed their disappointment with the ruling. “The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, by FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the statement read. They also condemned the social media attacks against Chiles, which intensified after the ruling.

Chiles took to Instagram earlier in the day to express her heartbreak and announced she was stepping back from social media for her mental health. Her teammates, including Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee, publicly supported her.

Lee criticized the judging process, calling it “completely unacceptable,” and Biles shared a message of encouragement for Chiles, referring to her as an “Olympic champ.”

The floor exercise final marked the end of the artistic gymnastics competition in Paris, where Chiles and Team USA had already secured a gold medal in the team event. The floor exercise saw Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade win gold, Biles take silver, and Chiles originally claiming the bronze, creating the first all-Black podium in women’s Olympic gymnastics history.

In a heartwarming display of sportsmanship, Chiles and Biles bowed to Andrade on the podium, a gesture that quickly went viral. The moment was celebrated widely, with even the Musêe du Louvre joining in on social media.

Chiles later revealed that the salute was her idea, describing Andrade as “an icon, a legend herself,” and emphasizing the importance of recognizing others’ hard work and dedication.