"System is comfortable with punishing her"; "Ridiculous result"- Fans react as IOC asks Jordan Chiles to return Paris Olympics bronze to Ana Barbosu

Jordan Chiles was recently stripped of her Paris Olympics bronze medal on the floor, and some fans have been left appalled by the decision. The medal marked the American's first-ever individual podium finish at the Games.

Chiles opened her campaign in Paris on a strong note, competing in the team finals, where she helped the US squad to a gold. Following this, the 23-year-old went on to perform in the individual floor finals, which is where the drama took place.

In the floor exercise finals, the American was the last to get out onto the mat and scored a 13.666 for her routine. This placed her in fifth place behind Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles, and Romania's Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea. However, upon an appeal by coach Cecile Landi, Chiles was awarded an extra tenth in her difficulty score, bringing her total to 13.766, placing her just above Barbosu, who had posted a 13.700.

However, Romania later appealed CAS (Court of Arbitration in Sports) and it was discovered that Landi’s appeal during the finals had been four seconds over the one-minute time limit, resulting in the court ruling in favor of Ana Barbosu. The IOC has since then asked Jordan Chiles to return her bronze, leaving fans outraged, with one writing,

“I am here once again to say they are demanding she returns the Bronze because the JUDGES made a mistake calculating her score and she was FOUR SECONDS late in making her appeal. So it’s not that she’s not the rightful winner. It’s that the system is comfortable with punishing her.”

Another internet user called the entire ordeal ridiculous, saying,

“THIS is the most ridiculous and stupid result in gymnastics. It makes gymnastics look like a dumb and heartless sport. Give both girls medals for the judges error, the whole thing is a fiasco.”

Here is how other fans reacted to the IOC stripping Jordan Chiles of her Paris Olympics bronze medal:

“This is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen,” one wrote.

“Girl, f**k them. They better go find another medal for ole girl. Reallocation ceremony my ass. She can stand on a podium by herself,” another added.

“Can they screw this up any more and devastate any more gymnasts? Why stop at 2? Let's remember the other Romanian that they penalized, incorrectly. She would have been 1st. Now you got to change everybody's medals 😂 What a sham,” one X user commented.

“The judges should be ashamed of themselves this girl deserves a medal & to take it away is a disgrace,” yet another fan chimed in.

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USOPC to challenge IOC’s decision to strip Jordan Chiles of her bronze

Meanwhile, the bronze-medal row from the floor executive finals at the Paris Olympics isn't complete yet. After the IOC released a statement announcing that Jordan Chiles was to be stripped of her medal, USOPC (the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee) said that they would challenge this decision.

In a statement, the committee said that they would be taking the matter to the Swiss Tribunal and/or European Court of Human Rights:

"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.”

Jordan Chiles is yet to comment on any of this, having taken time away from social media during the controversy to protect her mental health.