US appeals decision that led Jordan Chiles to be stripped of her bronze medal, provides evidence in her favor
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Sunday that the bronze medal given to American gymnast Jordan Chiles in the floor exercise at the Paris Games will be awarded to her Romanian counterpart Ana Bărbosu.
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 US is now appealing that decision and USA Gymnastics announced Sunday that it has submitted additional evidence to CAS as part of the effort to have gymnast Chiles’ medal reinstated.
The organization said it has video evidence “conclusively establishing that Head Coach Cecile Landi’s request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, within the 1-minute deadline required by FIG rule.”
“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.”
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.
And the IOC confirmed that the score change will mean Chiles will be stripped of her bronze and given to Bărbosu.
“Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in the statement.
“We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said Sunday that it would appeal the decision.
“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed,” the statement read.
“The initial error occurred in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision. As a result, we were not properly represented or afforded the opportunity to present our case comprehensively.
“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves. We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.”
The competition on Monday ended in dramatic fashion. Immediately after the competition finished on Monday with Chiles’ routine, Bărbosu thought she had won the bronze medal after posting a score of 13.700.
Chiles had initially posted a score of 13.666 but her coaches successfully challenged the difficulty score which added 0.1 to her score and moved her up to third, behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade and American Simone Biles.
Their appearance together on the first all-Black Olympics gymnastics podium produced one of the most iconic images of the Games as the Americans bowed down to Andrade.
However, CAS’ ruling that the inquiry submitted on behalf of Chiles “was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline” stipulated in the regulations threw Chiles’ medal into doubt.
Chiles posted on her Instagram story after CAS’ ruling with four breaking hearts emojis and “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you.”
CNN’s Issy Ronald, Jacob Lev, Homero De La Fuente and Dan Moriarty contributed to this report.
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