Jordan Chiles is taking a break from public attention amid the possibility of losing Olympic bronze medal. The gymnast announced her intention to leave social media after a court appeal dealt a heavy blow to her victory in the floor exercise competition.
Summary of what happened between the United States and Romania in the floor exercise competition
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Saturday (August 10) to reject a direct appeal filed by U.S. team coach Celile Landi on Monday (August 5).
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won gold, and Simone Biles won silver. Romania’s Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea tied for third with equal scores of 13.700, according to AP. The judges initially placed Ana in third place, followed by Sabrina and Chiles, who performed last in the lineup and finished fifth with a score of 13.666.
One minute and four seconds after the judges announced their final scores, Coach Landi filed an appeal. Ana was celebrating with her Romanian flag. But Coach Landi argued that Chiles should have an additional .1 added to her score. After review, the judges agreed and raised Chiles’ score, placing her above Ana and Sabrina.
On Saturday, CAS ruled that the original order of winners should be restored. The court’s ruling was based on a time constraint. Coach Landi had one minute of the score being announced to file an appeal, according to rules set by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). She was four seconds over, which technically made the appeal invalid.
According to the AP, Romanian Olympic Committee president Mihai Covaliu wrote a letter of protest to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) asking for a review of Sabrina Maneca-Voinea’s score. The letter claimed that an initial challenge was rejected. The judges deducted Sabrina .1 point for allegedly stepping out of line, a call that the video challenged as invalid.
Jordan Chiles reacts to CAS ruling on her bronze medal
Ultimately, CAS will leave it to the FIG to decide on Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal, with the organisation telling the Associated Press that an announcement will be made “at the appropriate time”.
Note that the Romanian Olympic Committee had requested three bronze medals—one for Ana, Sabrina, and Jordan—in its appeal against the U.S. coach’s appeal. However, the country’s prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, said Saturday’s ruling was “Justice…has been served.” “In the end, the truth has prevailed,” Ciolacu is said to have added that earlier this week he had threatened to boycott the closing ceremony after the Romanian gymnast finished fourth and fifth, calling it a “disgraceful situation”.
Meanwhile, Jordan Chiles seems to be heartbroken over the possibility of losing the bronze medal. On Saturday (August 10), she shared an Instagram Story post with four red broken heart emojis. A second post had the message, “I am taking this time and staying away from social media for my mental health. Thank you Friend.”
Her sister, Jazmine, also took to social media, blaming “racism” for the new CAS ruling. She asked for “prayers” for Jordan and their family.
“Racism is real, it exists, it is alive and well. They officially stripped one of her medals, 5 days later. Not because she didn’t win, not because she was drugged, not because she crossed the line; not because she wasn’t good enough. But because the judges didn’t give her a hard time, and forced an investigation. FOUR SECONDS. Her bronze medal was stripped in 4 seconds, which never needed to happen if the judges had done their job,” Jazmine Chiles wrote on her Instagram Story.
Jordan Chiles’ sister Jazmin Chiles has come to her defense after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favor of two Romanian gymnasts and overturned Jordan’s score in the women’s floor exercise at the Olympics. (📸: @teenvogue, @snyder.erica, @gettyimages) ✍🏾:… pic.twitter.com/Ctkf9hzYot
— TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) August 10, 2024
After returning to Romania, Ana Barbosu told reporters that her problem was not with Chiles but with the jury.
“I just want everyone to be fair, we don’t want to start picking on other athletes of any nationality. We, as athletes, don’t deserve that; we just want to perform our best and be rewarded for our performance. The problem lies with the judges, with their calculations and decisions,” Ana said amid social media criticism of Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal win.
The ruling and questions about what happens next with Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal have dampened a historic moment as three black women won gold medals in gymnastics.
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