"I think she's feeling a lot of heartbreak" - Laurie Hernandez on reaching out to Jordan Chiles following bronze medal controversy at Paris Olympics

Retired American gymnast Laurie Hernandez recently revealed that she reached out to Jordan Chiles after the 23-year-old was stripped of her bronze medal in the women’s floor exercise event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It happened after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) made a decision after an appeal by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, which resulted in Chiles losing her medal.

Initially, in the finals of the floor exercise, Chiles finished fifth with a score of 13.666 points. However, an appeal by her team during the finals saw her difficulty score move from 5.8 to 5.9, changing her overall score to 13.766 points from 13.666 points. Thus, Chiles was awarded the bronze medal ahead of Romania’s Ana Bărbosu, who had initially won the bronze with 13.700 points.

But the Romanian Gymnastics Federation once again appealed to the CAS, arguing that Jordan Chiles' team submitted their appeal 1 minute and 4 seconds past the 1-minute deadline which meant her score would be reverted to 13.666 points.

As a result, the CAS gave the decision favoring Bărbosu, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) asking Chiles to return her bronze medal and Bărbosu to receive her medal.

It was a heartbreaking moment for Chiles as she took her time off from her social media platform, Instagram. The two-time Olympic medalist Laurie Hernandez was one of the persons who offered her support to Chiles in this difficult time after the disappointing result. In an interview with E! News Online, she revealed:

“I've reached out a bit. I think she's [Jordan Chiles] just feeling a lot of heartbreak. There’s no words for it.”

Laurie Hernandez blames individuals who approved inquiry in bronze medal controversy ft. Jordan Chiles

: Jordan Chiles during the Women's Floor Exercise Final at the Paris Olympics 2024. (Photo by Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Laurie Hernandez held the individuals who accepted the inquiry as the people responsible for the Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medal controversy in the floor exercise event. In the interaction with E! News online, she said:

“It's whoever had approved the inquiry if they knew it was late. It's in those hands.”

She added:

“I really respect that the rules are the rules, but the athlete has to come into consideration. My heart breaks for both athletes, knowing that this is happening in the public eye.”

It is worth noting that the USA Gymnastics, the national governing body, has taken the case to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.