U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles must return the bronze medal she was awarded in the women’s floor exercise event following a scoring change on appeal, the International Olympic Committee confirmed Sunday.
On Saturday, Chiles learned that her bronze was in jeopardy after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that her score must revert back to 13.666, which would place Chiles in fifth and give third-place to gymnast Ana Barbosu of Romania, who scored 13.700 and whose country filed the CAS appeal.
“Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in a statement on Sunday (via NBC News). “We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
During the Aug. 6 event, Chiles initially earned a score of 13.666, which would have placed her fifth in the competition, behind eventual gold medal winner Rebeca Andrade, silver medalist and teammate Simone Biles, and a pair of Romanian gymnasts, Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea.
However, after scoring, Chiles’ coaches appealed to the judges, arguing that the routine’s level of difficulty — and thus the score — was incorrect; the judges agreed, and when the score was adjusted by 0.1, Chiles’ new score of 13.766 was enough to surpass Barbosu and Voinea’s 13.700, giving her the bronze at the last-minute and resulting in the first-ever all-Black medal podium in Olympics gymnastics.
However, after Romania’s post-event appeal, the CAS found that Team USA’s appeal came after one minute and four seconds — coaches have one minute to appeal a score after judging — and thus the CAS voided Team USA’s appeal and dropped Chiles’ score back down to 13.666 and fifth place. On Sunday, the IOC accepted the CAS ruling and asked for the return of Chiles’ medal.
“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,” USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said in a statement Sunday, adding they would appeal the IOC’s order.
“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.”
While the ruling has stripped Chiles of the bronze medal, Flavor Flav — who became the official hypeman for the Olympic women’s water-polo team this summer — provided a bit of consolation. On Sunday, the Public Enemy member took to social media to offer her a different award. “Ayyy YOOOO @ChilesJordan,” the rapper wrote, “imma make you a BRONZE CLOCK NECKLACE,,, and that’s something NO ONE else has,!!! Hit me up my girl,,, I gotchu,!!!”
Following the CAS ruling Saturday, Chiles — who is already in America, having appeared in studio on the Today show this week — herself wrote on Instagram that she would be avoiding social media for the foreseeable future. “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you,” she wrote in a message accompanied by broken heart emojis.
This article has been updated to include Flavor Flav’s offer.
