US gymnast Jordan Chiles has lost her bronze medal in the Paris Olympics women’s floor exercise after a controversial ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The CAS determined that the judging panel improperly granted an inquiry that moved Chiles up from fifth place, leading to the medal being awarded to 18-year-old Romanian Ana Barbosu.
Barbosu, who initially believed she had secured bronze with her score of 13.700, expressed her disbelief and joy upon receiving the news. “I can barely express my emotions, I can’t believe it,” she told Romanian media. “When I heard the news, I was afraid it wasn’t true, and once I was sure, I hugged my parents and called everyone who had helped me.”
The CAS ruling stemmed from applications filed by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and gymnasts Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. They argued that the appeal of Chiles’s degree of difficulty was submitted past the one-minute deadline for such inquiries and should not have been granted.
While the review resulted in an upgraded score of 13.766 for Chiles, securing her a bronze medal behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and teammate Simone Biles, it devastated Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea, who were pushed into fifth place.
The scoring inquiry, which is a regular occurrence in gymnastics competitions, sparked outrage among Romanian officials, with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu calling it a “scandalous situation” and vowing to boycott the Olympic closing ceremony.
In its statement, the CAS emphasized that its ruling applied only to Chiles’s score, which should be reinstated at its original 13.666. However, the CAS did not rule on the final floor exercise ranking, leaving the task of sorting out the medals to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee issued a joint statement expressing their “devastation” at the ruling. They defended their good faith in filing the inquiry regarding Chiles’s routine, emphasizing their commitment to ensuring accurate scoring.
The organizations also condemned the online harassment that Chiles has endured since the appeal, stating that “No athlete should be subject to such treatment.” They commended her for her integrity and pledged continued support.
The drama surrounding the floor exercise medal has cast a shadow over the end of the gymnastics competition at the Paris Olympics, leaving a bitter taste of controversy in its wake.
