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American gymnast Jordan Chiles will return the bronze medal she won in the women’s gymnastics floor final at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“The IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu (Romania),” the International Olympic Committee announced on Sunday. “We are in contact with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with the USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
The IOC’s decision follows a protest filed by the Romanian Federation of Gymnastics with the International Gymnastics Federation and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding an appeal made by Chiles’s coach, Cecile Landi. After Chiles completed her floor routine, Landi believed her difficulty score was too low and filed an inquiry with the judges. The appeal was successful, raising Chiles’s score from fifth to third place, securing her a podium finish alongside American teammate Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
However, an arbitral panel ruled on Saturday that the appeal was filed four seconds past the allowable one-minute time limit, meaning Chiles’s score should have remained at 13.666, with Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu’s score of 13.700 earning the bronze medal.
The IOC confirmed the score change on Sunday, enforcing the medal exchange.
IOC Orders Jordan Chiles to Return Bronze Medal, Awards It to Ana Barbosu
“We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding the women’s floor exercise,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Saturday. “The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’s floor exercise was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.”
Despite losing the bronze medal, Chiles will still retain the gold medal she won with her American teammates Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera in the team all-around competition.
