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American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of her bronze medal in the women's floor exercise final following a court ruling. The controversy stems from a scoring inquiry that briefly elevated Chiles from fifth to third place, only to be overturned days later.
On August 5, Chiles initially scored 13.666 points, placing her fifth. However, her coach Cecile Landi quickly submitted an inquiry regarding Chiles' difficulty score. The judges agreed, raising Chiles' score to 13.766 and awarding her the bronze medal over Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who both scored 13.700.
The Romanian Olympic committee protested the decision, leading to a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on August 10. The CAS judge determined that Landi's inquiry was submitted 4 seconds past the one-minute deadline, violating Article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations.
In response, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ordered Chiles to return the bronze medal on August 11, reallocating it to Barbosu. "We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal," the IOC stated.
USA Gymnastics expressed disappointment, saying: "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."
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced plans to appeal, citing "critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed."
Chiles, visibly heartbroken, announced a temporary social media hiatus for her mental health. Her teammate Simone Biles offered support on Instagram: "Sending you so much love Jordan. Keep your chin up 'Olympic champ' we love you."
The controversy has sparked debate about judging procedures and appeal processes in Olympic gymnastics. Six-time Olympic medalist Sunisa Lee commented: "All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges? Completely unacceptable, this is awful and I'm gutted for Jordan."
