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Jordan Chiles and Ana Barbosu have found themselves in the midst of one of the biggest controversies at the Paris Olympics. The incident began at the gymnastics floor exercise finals, and has continued to spiral since.
As it happened, Chiles and Barbosu were both exemplary in their qualification rounds at the Games, making their way through to the individual floor finals. On the day, the Romanian was up first, and an impressive routine saw her post a score of 13.700, putting her third in the standings.
After this, it was the American's turn to take to the mat, and her routine was given a score of 13.666, placing her fifth behind Barbosu and her compatriot Sabrina Voinea, who also scored a 13.700. With Chiles being the last gymnast to compete, it looked like Barbosu had won bronze.
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However, Jordan Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi raised an inquiry with the officials regarding the difficulty score of her gymnast's performance, pointing out that the judges had incorrectly scored a certain element of her routine.
The judges conceded that Landi was right, and gave Chiles an extra tenth, bumping her score upto a 13.766, just enough to place her third. Unfortunately, Ana Barbosu was unaware of these happenings and had already begun her medal celebrations, only to later realize that her American rival had won the bronze.
Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee appeals to CAS
Post the Olympic medals distribution, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee expressed their dissatisfaction over the judges’ last minute decision to upgrade Jordan Chiles' score. They then raised an appeal with the International Gymnastics Federation and the Court of Arbitration for Sport, asking for a reconsideration of Sabrina Voinea’s score, and a request to look into the original inquiry submitted by Cecile Landi.
CAS rules in favor of Romania, IOC asks Jordan Chiles to return bronze
After the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee's appeal, the CAS ruled that Cecila Landi’s original inquiry during the final had been four seconds over the one-minute time limit. As such, the inquiry was annulled.
On Saturday (10th August), the International Gymnastics Federation stated that they would honor the ruling of the CAS, and in an unprecedented move, the IOC announced that Jordan Chiles would be asked to give her medal over to Ana Barbosu.
USA Gymnastics ask for Jordan Chiles’ bronze to be reinstated
In the most recent development of the controversy over the decision of who of the two would ultimately be seen as the winner of the Paris Olympics' bronze medal for the floor exercise event, USA Gymnastics has filed an appeal asking for Jordan Chiles' bronze to be reinstated.
In an official statement, the federation announced that it had submitted video evidence to the CAS that proved that Landi's inquiry had been within the time limit, and that thus, Chiles’ upgraded score of 13.766 should stand. It reads:
"USA Gymnastics on Sunday formally submitted a letter and video evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, 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 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.”
“In the letter, USA Gymnastics requests that the CAS ruling be revised and Chiles’ bronze-medal score of 13.766 reinstated. 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.”
As of now, Chiles is yet to comment on the entire controversy, after having announced that she is stepping away from social media as a step to ensure her well-being during this tumultuous time.
