By Paris, France – American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been ordered to return the bronze medal she won in the Paris Olympics floor exercise event after a ruling by sport’s highest court nullified an on-floor appeal by Chiles’ coach that had elevated her to third place. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed the decision early Sunday.
The IOC announced that it would be reallocating the bronze medal from last Monday’s women’s floor final to Romania’s Ana Barbosu after the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) stated on Saturday night that it would respect the court’s decision, which elevates Barbosu to third place.
This decision came less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided a scoring appeal made by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the competition that initially placed Chiles on the podium.
CAS ruled on Saturday that Landi’s appeal to have 0.1 added to Chiles’ score came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the FIG. The court determined that Landi’s inquiry was made 1 minute and 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted, exceeding the time limit.
The IOC stated in a press release that it would coordinate with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee regarding the return of Chiles’ bronze medal and would collaborate with the Romanian Olympic Committee to organize a reallocation ceremony to honor Barbosu.
The FIG further stated that the final finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, Romanian gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea in fourth, and Chiles fifth. While the organization added that the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision,” it deferred to the federation to decide the recipients of the gold and silver medals, which had been awarded to Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and Simone Biles, respectively.
The FIG also clarified that the decision to reallocate the medal was the IOC’s call. The IOC reaffirmed Sunday that it would uphold FIG’s decision and proceed with efforts to retrieve Chiles’ medal and award it to Barbosu.
