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Jordan Chiles may have to return Olympic bronze medal after inquiry is voided

Sara Vallone

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The inquiry submitted by USA gymnastics that afforded Jordan Chiles a bronze medal in floor on the final day of competition has been voided.

As a result, Chiles may be forced to return her bronze medal.

On August 10, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the inquiry that led to Chiles’ bronze medal win “was improperly granted,” citing that the inquiry was submitted “past the one-minute deadline for inquires.”

“The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique shall determine the ranking of the women’s floor exercise and assign the medals in accordance with the above decision,” the CAS wrote in their final decision.

USA Gymnastics have since shared their own statement condemning CAS’s final ruling.

“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,” the statement reads.

“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”

Chiles herself took to social media to share a brief statement following the decision. After sharing a series of broken heart emojis, she announced that she was taking a step back from social media to focus on her mental health. “I’m taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health. Thank you.”

Jordan Chiles may have to return Olympic bronze medal after inquiry is voided | The inquiry submitted by USA gymnastics that afforded Jordan Chiles a bronze medal in floor on the final day of competition has been voided.

As it was reported, Chiles claimed bronze after her coaches submitted an inquiry about her score. The inquiry was that Chiles leap was labeled as a c-start value, instead of a d-start value, which raises Chiles overall score.

The inquiry was reviewed and approved by the judges.

Chiles’ teammate Suni Lee also shared a statement. “All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges? Completely unacceptable,” Lee began. “This is awful and I’m gutted for Jordan. I got your back forever, Jo. [You] have all my flowers and you will ALWAYS be an Olympic champion.”

The coaches for the two Romanian gymnasts who finished fourth and fifth also submitted an inquiry, but that submission was not accepted.

“We see this in sports all the time,” Justin Springs explained. “There’s video review, you go back and you make sure you get it right. She in fact did a D leap, she got credit for it. It was unfortunate that they got it wrong in the first place. But the right thing happened in the end.”

The exact element in question is called a Tour Jete Full.

Chiles didn’t get credit for it in qualifying but her coaches, Cecile and Laurent, believed she did it better during finals and inquired to ensure she received the points for the Tour Jete full. 

As a result, she received a score one-tenth higher than she was originally given, putting Chiles in the that third place spot.

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