Controversy and resilience: Jordan Chiles stripped of Olympic Medal at 2024 Paris Games

BY KRISHNA MISTRY

An American gymnast gets stripped of her Olympic medal at this year’s 2024 Paris Olympics. Jordan Chiles, a twenty-three-year-old gymnast, had to step down, losing her bronze medal.

On August 5^th, the Olympics hosted the women’s floor artistic gymnastics finals at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France. Athletes like: Simone Biles from the United States of America, Rebeca Andrade from Brazil, Jordan Chiles from the United States of America, and Ana Bărbosu from Romania were present at the finals.

Initially, Chiles scored 13.666 on her floor routine, placing her behind the Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu. However, Head Coach Cécile Landi (USA) inquired and appealed, which increased her score to 13.766, placing her third and receiver of the bronze medal.

Unfortunately, the Romain Federation appealed against Chiles. The decision was made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that Chiles’s appeal would not be valid, as Coach Cécile Landi had inquired one minute and four seconds after the score was called (four seconds after the one-minute deadline). This automatically reversed Chile’s win, making Bărbosu the recipient of the bronze.

After hearing this news, Chiles’ friends, family, and fellow athletes expressed their support for her. Chiles’s mom, Gina, reshared many supporting posts of her daughter on X, formerly known as Twitter. Chiles’s sister also shared her thoughts on her Instagram. To show support, the official Team USA account posted a picture of Chiles and wrote, “Forever THAT GIRL.”

Olympics athletes Simone Biles and Suni Lee also shared their support for Chiles. Suni Lee shared on Instagram, “All this talk about the athlete; what about the judges? Completely unacceptable. This is awful, and I’m gutted for Jordan,” while Simone Biles wrote, “Sending you so much love, Jordan. Keep your chin up Olympic champ! We love you”.

The Romanian athlete showed great sportsmanship when she issued a statement on Instagram that read, “Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling, because I’ve been through the same. But I know you’ll come back stronger. I hope from the depths of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share the same podium… This situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation. We athletes are not to be blamed, and the hate directed to us is painful.”

Chiles has currently distanced herself from social media for the betterment of her mental health. On August 12^th, 2024  the Team USA account shared that the USA Gymnastics had submitted a letter and video evidence to CAS, verifying that head coach Cécile Landi requested an inquiry forty-seven seconds after the score was announced, within the one-minute deadline.

In the letter, they request that the CAS revise the scoring and that Chiles’ bronze medal and her score of 13.7666 be reinstated. The CAS responded, “The time-stamped, video evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics Sunday evening shows Landi first stated her request to file an inquiry at the inquiry table 47 seconds after the score is posted, followed by a second statement 55 seconds after the score was originally posted, The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it,” they concluded.

On August 13^th, Team USA put out another statement on Instagram stating that CAS informed the USA gymnastics team that their rules do not allow arbitral awards to be reconsidered even if evidence has been provided. USAG shares that they were extremely disappointed with this news, but plan to do everything in their power for Jordan.

Unfortunately, this was the last statement the USA team put out. Despite the clear evidence provided by USA Gymnastics and the overwhelming support from her peers, the CAS’s decision remains final. While the circumstances are undoubtedly painful, Chiles’s resilience and the solidarity shown by her fellow gymnasts highlight the strength of the athletic community.