Olympic Bronze medalist Jordan Chiles was stripped of her medal for floor exercise. This decision was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a key governing body in the world of sports. The IOC announced that Jordan's third-place medal would be given to Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu instead.
According to CNN, [It comes after a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling on Saturday that said that the initial inquiry made by the USA over Chiles' score in Monday's gymnastics floor exercise final was filed after the one-minute deadline]. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said that Chiles' original score of 13.666 would be reinstated and that Bărbosu's ranking – with a score of 13.700 – would be improved to third. This decision, which seemed to favor Bărbosu, added to the sense of injustice felt by Chiles and her supporters.
However, USA Today reports that there is time-stamped video evidence that proves the United States gymnast's inquiry was, in fact, filed on time. According to USAT, "USA Gymnastics said Sunday that it had obtained new video evidence showing that coach Cecile Landi submitted the inquiry into Chiles' floor exercise score before the one-minute deadline − 47 seconds after her score was announced, to be exact." "The governing body said in a statement that it has submitted the video, as well as a formal letter, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as part of a request to reinstate Chiles' score of 13.766 and allow her to keep her bronze medal from the women's floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics."
The American gymnast has not made an official statement. Still, she did make a statement on her Instagram story stating, "taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you."
However, her sister Jazmin has been very vocal about her ruling. According to The Wrap, Jazmin confirmed the news in an Instagram story, writing, "Please keep Jordan (and my family) in your prayers," she began. "Racism is real, it exists, it is alive and well." Jazmin continued, "They have officially, 5 days later, stripped her of one of her medals. Not because she didn't win, not because she was drugged, not because she stepped out of bounds," Jazmin continued. "Not because she wasn't good enough. But because the judges failed to give her difficulty and forced an inquiry to be made."
Jordan's mother, Gina Chiles, has called out racism as well. She stated, "The racist disgusting comments are still happening in 2024," Gina wrote. "I'm tired of people who say it no longer exists. My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched…and she's being called disgusting things."
USA Gymnastics made the following statement about the ruling: “We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise,” USA Gymnastics said Saturday. “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.” They continued,
“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. 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,” the statement concluded.
Stay tuned. This story will be updated.
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