U.S. Olympic Committee To Fight For Jordan Chiles To Keep Her Bronze Medal

Team USA pulled off a magnificent display of athleticism, poise, grit, and resistance at the 2024 games. Team USA won the most medals at the Paris Olympics with a total of 126! However, that count may be bumped down to a count of 125 after the Sunday, August 11 announcement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC.)

On Monday, August, 5 two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles earned the first individual Olympic medal of her career a Bronze in the floor exercise final. The win was historic as the medal ceremony featured an all-Black Olympic gymnastics podium for the first time. Sadly, her epic win ended in heartbreak.

WHAT'S THE DRAMA ABOUT?

Chiles' initial score of 13.666 put her in fifth place. Romania's Ana Bărbosu and Sabrina Voinea earned identical scores of 13.7, but Barbosu had a higher execution score placing her slightly ahead of Voinea.

As Barbosu began celebrating her bronze win, Team USA head coach Cecile Landi challenged Chiles' difficulty score, citing that she was given the wrong score.  Coach Landi filed an inquiry that the score was one-tenth lower than her maximum D-score when it was supposed to be higher.

The judges reviewed the score tally and found that there was indeed an error. Then accepted Coach Landi's inquiry, and awarded Jordan Chiles the additional one-tenth that she earned. By doing so, Chiles', final score went up to 13.766 putting her in third place to win the Bronze.

HOW DID THE ROMANIAN GYMNASTICS FEDERATION (RGF) TAKE THE NEWS?

The RGF filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport(CAS) an independent body formed by the IOC to settle disputes like this. Their problem wasn't over Chiles's performance or her reinstated score. They argued that Coach Landi filed the inquiry after the one-minute deadline.

If Coach Landi filed the inquiry even a few seconds late, the judges should not have accepted it. Therefore, the judges should not have amended Jordan Chiles's score even though they made the mistake.

WHAT WAS THE CAS RULING?

CAS ruled on Saturday that it was going to strip Chiles of her rightfully earned Bronze anyway and award it to Bărbosu. According to the IOC, Team USA made the initial on Chiles’ score after the one-minute deadline. Then passed the matter to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to make a final ruling. According to ESPN, FIG stuck with the call by CAS and officially reversed the final ranking, putting Barbosu back in third, Voinea fourth, and Chiles fifth.

HOW DID THE U.S. OLYMPIC AND PARLYMPIC COMMITTEE RESPOND?

To put it plainly, they ain't having it! In a statement on this matter, they said Sunday 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.”

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

Team USA ain't going out without a fight and refuses to ask Jordan Chiles to return a medal she legitimately earned. At last word Sunday evening, USA Gymnastics put out a statement saying it submitted a letter and video evidence to the CAS, proving the inquiry submitted on Chiles's behalf was within the 1-minute deadline.

Fingers crossed, this ends the dispute and Jordan Chiles gets the medal and recognition she deserves. We'll keep you posted on how this turns out.