US gymnast to return medal after refereeing decision

Paris. American gymnast Jordan Chiles must return the bronze medal she received for the floor exercise at the Paris 2024 Olympics after the sport’s highest court overturned an appeal by her coach who placed her third, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed on Sunday.

The governing body announced it would award bronze in the women’s floor final to Romania’s Ana Barbosu, after the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said on Saturday night it would respect the court’s decision and consider Barbosu third.

The decision came less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned an appeal by US coach Cecile Landi over the score during the competition that had elevated Chiles to the podium.

CAS ruled that Landi’s appeal to have 0.1 added to Chiles’ score, which catapulted her from fifth to third place, came outside the one-minute timeframe allowed by FIG. The committee formed to evaluate the case wrote that Landi’s request came one minute and four seconds after the score was submitted.

The IOC said in a statement that it would be in contact with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee about the return of the medal and would work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss an award ceremony for Barbosu.

In its ruling, CAS wrote that the original order of positions should be restored, with Barbosu third, Romania’s Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth.

The organization added that the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the previous decision,” but left it up to the FIG to decide who would take the medal behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the United States.

The FIG said it was up to the IOC to decide whether to reallocate the medal. The IOC confirmed on Sunday that it would respect the FIG’s decision and seek the reinstatement of the medal awarded to Chiles.

The rapid succession of events prolonged some complicated days for the three athletes.

Romanian gymnastics legend and 1976 Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci expressed concern for Barbosu’s mental health following the harrowing situation, which saw her go from winning a bronze medal to finishing fourth.

“I can’t believe we’re playing with the mental health and emotions of female athletes like this (…) let’s protect them,” Comaneci wrote on X this week.

She also criticised the judges for how they scored Maneca-Voinea’s routine. The gymnast was docked 0.1 points for stepping outside the boundary, but replays that went viral showed she had narrowly stayed within. Comaneci urged the Romanian Olympic Committee to protest, which it did, but the CAS rejected that appeal.

Chiles alluded to that decision in an Instagram post on Saturday, saying she was heartbroken and “I’m taking some time off social media for my mental health, thank you.”

Jordan’s sister, Jazmin Chiles, said on Instagram that Chiles had lost the medal “not because she wasn’t good enough. But because the judges didn’t recognize her difficulty and forced a review.”

Her teammates on the U.S. team offered their support to Chiles, who was playing in her second game.

“Sending you so much love, Jordan,” said American star Simone Biles on Instagram. “Keep your head up, Olympic champion, we love you.”

USA Gymnastics said in a statement Saturday that it was “devastated” by the ruling.

“The review of the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise was submitted in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG guidelines to ensure accurate scoring,” the federation said.