The verdict regarding Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal has been announced, and the news is not favorable for her.
The International Olympic Committee has ruled that the U.S. gymnast must return the third-place medal she earned in the floor competition at the Paris Olympic Games. This medal will now be awarded to her Romanian rival, Ana Barbosu.
The controversy surrounding this situation began last Monday when Chiles achieved a score of 13.666 in the women’s floor exercise, which initially placed her fifth in the competition. However, her coaches contested the judges’ decision, leading to a review based on the difficulty level of Chiles’ performance.
After evaluating her routine, the judges increased Jordan Chiles’ score by one-tenth of a point, propelling her into third place and earning her the bronze medal.
However, on Saturday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which resolves disputes related to competition rules, determined that Chiles’ coaches had submitted their challenge to the judges’ decision just 64 seconds after all the scores were posted. The deadline for such actions is exactly one minute, so the court reverted Chiles’ score back to 13.666. Since the court lacks the authority to revoke medals, the issue was ultimately passed on to the Olympic Committee.
As a result, the committee decided to strip Chiles of her bronze medal and awarded it to Ana Barbosu, who initially finished fourth with a score of 13.700.
In the same competition, Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade secured the gold medal, while Chiles’ teammate Simone Biles took home the silver.
