US gymnast stripped of Olympic bronze medal

News Express |11th Aug 2024 | 218
 US gymnast stripped of Olympic bronze medal

Jordan Chiles was initially in fifth place before her score was upgraded




American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of the bronze medal she won in Mondays womens floor final.

The International Gymnastics Federation (Fig) confirmed Romanias Ana Barbosu has been upgraded from fourth to third after a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

Cas upheld an appeal by the Romanian Olympic Committee that an inquiry submitted by the US team about Chiles score fell outside the one-minute limit for such appeals and should be disregarded.

Chiles original score has now been reinstated, dropping her back into fifth place.

USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said they were devastated by the decision and condemned the consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks that Chiles has received on social media during the appeal process.

Chiles, 23, who won gold in the womens 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.

What happened?

Chiles initially scored 13.666 in Mondays final, putting her in fifth place in the competition and leading Romanian gymnast Barbosu, who scored 13.7, to believe she had won the bronze medal.

However, after the inquiry by Chiles coach Cecile Landi with regard to her difficulty rating, officials upgraded Chiles score to 13.766, placing her third.

The adjustment left Barbosu, who had begun celebrating her medal, upset and led to a protest from the Romanian team.

Romanias prime minister Marcel Ciolacu called it a scandalous situation and threatened to boycott the closing ceremony.

The Romanian Olympic Committee successfully appealed to Cas on the grounds the inquiry was untimely as it had been submitted four seconds after the one minute time limit.

Cas reinstated Chiles score of 13.666 on Saturday, which was later confirmed by Fig.

The International Olympic Committee said it will reallocate the bronze medal to Barbosu and is in touch with the US team regarding the return of the medal and the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss the reallocation ceremony.

USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said: 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.

Speaking about the online abuse of Chiles, they added: 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 team-mate Simone Biles won silver in the event, with Brazils Rebeca Andrade taking gold.

On the podium, Biles and Chiles bowed down to Andrade in an iconic moment of the Games.

Biles posted 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 posted: All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges? Completely unacceptable, this is awful and Im gutted for Jordan. (BBC: Text, Excluding Headline)




Comments

Post Comment

Thursday, October 2, 2025 3:53 PM
ADVERTISEMENT

Follow us on

GOCOP Accredited Member

GOCOP Accredited member
logo

NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s leading online newspaper. Published by Africa’s international award-winning journalist, Mr. Isaac Umunna, NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s first truly professional online daily newspaper. It is published from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic and media hub, and has a provision for occasional special print editions. Thanks to our vast network of sources and dedicated team of professional journalists and contributors spread across Nigeria and overseas, NEWS EXPRESS has become synonymous with newsbreaks and exclusive stories from around the world.

Contact

Adetoun Close, Off College Road, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos State.
+234(0)8098020976, 07013416146, 08066020976
info@newsexpressngr.com

Find us on

Facebook
Twitter

Copyright NewsExpress Nigeria 2025