Jordan Chiles officially stripped of Olympic bronze medal because of a technicality

Jordan Chiles has officially been stripped of her Olympic bronze medal.

On Aug. 11, the International Olympic Committee announced that Chileswill be required to relinquish her medal, which will now be awarded to Romania’s Ana Barbosu, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that judges for the women’s floor should not have granted an inquiry filed by Chiles’ coaches, People reported.

“We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal,” a statement released by the International Olympic Committee read, according to People.

As it was previously reported, the inquiry submitted by USA gymnastics that afforded Chiles the bronze medal in floor on the final day of competition was voided on Aug. 10.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the inquiry that led to Chiles’ bronze medal win was ”improperly granted,” citing that the inquiry was submitted “past the one-minute deadline for such requests.” Specifically, the inquiry was submitted one minute and four seconds after Chiles completed her routine, meaning Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi was just four seconds late, USA Today reported.

“The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique shall determine the ranking of the women’s floor exercise and assign the medal(s) in accordance with the above decision,” the CAS wrote in its final decision, according to USA Today.

USA Gymnastics has since shared its own statement on CAS’s final ruling.

“We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise. 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 statement reads.

“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.”

Chiles herself took to social media to share a brief statement following the decision. After sharing a series of broken heart emojis, she announced that she was taking a step back from social media.

“I’m taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health. Thank you,” Chiles wrote.

Before the decision was made, Chiles’ mom condemned the racist comments her daughter had been subjected to since she won the bronze medal.

“The racist disgusting comments are still happening in 2024. I’m tired of people who say it no longer exists,” Gina Chiles wrote.

“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.”

Chiles claimed bronze after her coaches submitted an inquiry about her score. The inquiry was that Chiles’ leap was labeled as a c-start value, instead of a d-start value, which raises Chiles overall score.

The inquiry was reviewed and approved by the judges.

Chiles’ teammate Suni Lee also shared a statement. “All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges? Completely unacceptable,” Lee began. “This is awful and I’m gutted for Jordan. I got your back forever, Jo. [You] have all my flowers and you will ALWAYS be an Olympic champion.”

The coaches for the two Romanian gymnasts who finished fourth and fifth also submitted an inquiry, but that submission was not accepted.

“We see this in sports all the time,” NBC’s Justin Springs explained. “There’s video review, you go back and you make sure you get it right. She in fact did a D leap, she got credit for it. It was unfortunate that they got it wrong in the first place. But the right thing happened in the end.”

The exact element in question is called a Tour Jete Full.

Chiles didn’t get credit for it in qualifying but her coaches, Cecile and Laurent Landi, believed she did it better during finals and inquired to ensure she received the points for the Tour Jete full.

As a result, she received a score one-tenth higher than she was originally given, putting Chiles in the third place spot.