Despite “conclusive” video proof that her coach submitted a request to re-evaluate her score within the allowed time frame, it looks like Jordan Chiles won’t get to hang on to the bronze medal she was so excited to win in Paris.
The controversial back-and-forth has been brewing for a week—here’s a primer on all things Technical Gymnastics Scoring Rules—but the long and short of it is that despite USA Gymnastics presenting new evidence, the court that arbitrates sports scores says it’s not overturning its decision to nullify the point increase that won Chiles the bronze. USA Gymnastics issued a statement that it will continue fighting, though this case could go on for years, per the Associated Press.
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
For their parts, the athletes aren’t fighting at all. Chiles left social media to protect her mental health, and Ana Barbosu, the original bronze medalist on whose behalf the Romanian Olympic Committee challenged Chiles’s coach’s inquiry, wants to share the stage with Chiles at the next Olympics. The International Olympic Committee apparently wants Chiles to send her medal back, but the Romanian Gymnastics Federation actually doesn’t, and says the bronze should be shared between Chiles, Barbosu, and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, the gymnast (also Romanian) whose score tied Barbosu’s.
So, what’s next? We don’t know. It’s unclear if Chiles has sent her medal back, and there’s little precedent for these cases on the Olympic level; previous medal-returnees typically lose their status because they were caught using banned substances.
Meanwhile, Americans are rallying around Chiles, including Olympics enthusiast and rapper Flavor Flav, who commissioned a bronze version of his iconic clock necklace as a gift for Chiles. The gymnast’s mother, Gina, responded to the gesture on social media, writing, “Thank you. Means the world. She’s not on socials right now as you can imagine. I’ll share it with her. ”
Read the full article here
