Over the past few days, things haven’t been looking up for Jordan Chiles and her bronze medal!
Despite the USA Gymnastics team submitting enough evidence to prove that their appeal for her increased scores came within the deadline, the Court of Arbitration for Sports ruled that Romania’s Ana Barbosu, who originally competed for the bronze, would keep it.
And now, veteran gymnast Laurie Hernandez has some opinions on the subject. Hernandez, who came in at the Paris Olympics as an analyst and commentator for NBC, got a closer look into the situation on stage.
While she worked alongside researchers and the media team to indulge in some daytime commentary, Chiles’ situation hit hard as her former gymnast self emerged to witness the ordeal.
In a detailed conversation with ‘Vulture’, she spoke about her experience with live commentary, how she landed on the opportunity, and what her process looked like.
While talking about all these aspects of participating in a grand show like the Olympics, she took the time to acknowledge her former team’s shining star, Chiles’ heartbreak.
Right off the bat, Hernandez clarified that she wouldn’t want to push any of the parties under the bus for this controversy. Being a commentator and an analyst, she revealed that she had to be neutral about her stance on the subject.
She acknowledged that the situation was messy and troublesome for everyone involved.
“I’m not saying judges are faulty, but when you watch things in slow motion, of course you’re going to find something different.”
Her heart broke for both Chiles and Barbosu, for one deserved the medal, and the other didn’t deserve the tragedy of being robbed of it at the eleventh hour. As happy as she was to see Team USA on the podium that day, it equally upset her to see Team Romania’s last-moment blow.
Yet, Hernandez had a bone to pick with the IOC and how they have been dealing with this issue so far. She demanded they bring the medal back to Chiles while also taking a “chaotic neutral” stance by proposing to award the medal to both the gymnasts concerned.
“Give them all a medal for hell’s sake. It doesn’t make sense to me how it got to this.”
Hernandez’s stance seems to be one of the common solutions that several fans were on board with. However, with the recent developments, CAS has already rewarded Barbosu with the medal, who admitted she couldn’t help but think about her fellow competitors entangled in this mess.
While USA Gymnastics has still vouched to take matters to the higher authorities, proposing to involve the Swiss Federal Tribunal, things look bleak for Chiles.
However, with the support of veterans like Hernandez, she has already risen against the odds to fight through the hate and downfalls for a successful future.
