It’s been a whirlwind of emotions and developments since news broke that Team USA Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles was at risk of losing her bronze medal. The 23-year-old was awarded the third place honor during the women’s floor exercise final on August 5, 2024, alongside fellow Team USA member Simone Biles who took silver, and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade who took gold. It was a historic—and beautiful—all-Black women podium moment that spread like wildfire across the internet.
But, that moment did not come without controversy. During the competition, Romania’s Ana Barbosu was awarded a score of 13.700, making her the initial bronze medal winner. The last gymnast to compete that day, Chiles’ score was posted as 13.666. Immediately after, Team USA head coach Cecile Landi requested an inquiry into the scoring as she realized that Chiles was not given the full difficulty points for her routine. This led the judges to return an updated score of 13.766 for Chiles, making her the new third-place finisher.
Nearly a week later, the internet was flooded with reports that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had received an appeal from the Romanian delegation based on the timing of Team USA’s inquiry during the event. CAS eventually ruled in favor of Romania and ordered the amended scores to be reversed, thus placing Chiles in fifth and pushing Barbosu back into third. This led many to question if the USA gymnast would actually be stripped of her medal and asked to return it, as CAS had no bearing on the actual medal standing.
As this news circulated, Chiles posted to Instagram saying, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health. Thank you.”
USA Gymnastics, the organization that oversees both the men’s and women’s teams, released a statement on August 10, 2024, explaining the current state of the case as well as its position to continue to fight for Chiles until the end:
“We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise. The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the statement read.
“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless, and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”
On August 11, 2024, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) officially updated the Olympic standings based on the CAS ruling, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled that Chiles would need to “surrender” the medal as it would be reallocated to the Romanian gymnast.
Late Sunday evening, USA Gymnastics submitted an appeal, including previously unavailable timestamped video footage proving that the inquiry into Chiles’ scoring was made 47 seconds after the score was posted, and repeated at the 55 second mark.
It was also later revealed early Monday that the Romanian Gymnastics Federation had actually requested that a tie be issued, and both ladies be listed as the bronze medalists. In their official statement, they stressed that the American delegation had also agreed to these terms, however, the CAS refused.
“FRG never agreed on taking away a medal,” the statement concluded.
Unfortunately, CAS rejected USA Gymnastics’ appeal request on Monday, stating that reallocations like these are not open to reconsideration once a ruling has been made. But USA Gymnastics has not given up the fight.
“USA Gymnastics was notified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday that their rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented,” a statement revealed. “We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan.”
ESSENCE is closely following Chiles’ plight and will continue to provide updates on the status of this story.
**Additional reporting by Rivéa Ruff.