A judge agreed with a petition from Romanian gymnasts that claimed Chiles had incorrectly been awarded the third-place spot during the floor final on Aug. 5
Jordan Chiles has officially been stripped of her bronze medal in floor from the Paris Olympics after a judge for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of two Romanian gymnasts on Aug. 10.
The CAS judge agreed with a petition from Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu — who had initially won bronze — and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea that claimed Chiles had incorrectly been awarded the third-place spotduring the floor final on Aug. 5.
Chiles’ medal will be reallocated to Barbosu, the IOC announced in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Sunday, Aug. 11.
“We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal,” the statement read.
The CAS ruling had been passed on to the IOC and the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to determine how to redistribute the medals.
Chiles, 23, had won bronze in the floor final, her first-ever individual Olympic medal, after she initially finished the event in fifth, based on the judges’ scoring. But her coach, USA Gymnastics’ Cecile Landi, quickly submitted a successful inquiry into the decision pointing out that her difficulty score had been too low, specifically regarding a leap that involved performing a split in the air while turning 540 degrees.
The judges agreed with Landi, boosting Chiles’ score from 13.666 to 13.766, and giving her bronze over Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea, who both scored 13.700.
The Romanian Olympic committee protested the decision a day later, and on Saturday a CAS judge ruled that Landi had submitted the inquiry in 1 minute and 4 seconds — 4 seconds too late for it to count.
“The inquiry submitted on behalf of Ms Jordan Chiles in the Final of the women’s Floor exercise was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline provided by article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations and is determined to be without effect,” the ruling stated.
The Romanian Olympic committee requested that the IOC/FIG amend the final podium by “placing all three athletes in 3rd position and the allocation of medals to all three athletes,” which ultimately did not happen, as the medal was reallocated solely to Barbosu.
Before the CAS ruling was released, Chiles posted a series of heartbroken emojis on her Instagram Stories. After it was announced, she added that she was getting off social media.
“I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.”
Her close friend and teammate Simone Biles, meanwhile, posted on her Instagram Stories: “Sending you so much love Jordan,” alongside a photo of the two gymnasts hugging at a competition. “Keep your chin up Olympic champ! We love you!”
And USA Gymnastics expressed their disappointment with the CAS decision in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
“We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise. The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.”
Article by Julie Mazziatto
