Just when one thought things couldn’t get more complicated in the Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal case, the plot thickens. Previously, the USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee stated that they were devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sports’ verdict of stripping the gymnast of her bronze medal. However, a ray of hope has emerged recently.
The Individual Floor Routine championship already witnessed some drama with the awarding of scores and podium positions. The judges ended up underscoring Chiles, and Team Romania’s Ana Barbosu was in line for the bronze. However, an appeal for inquiry by Team USA immediately resulted in a revised score and Chiles bagged the medal.
Yet, things worsened when the CAS ruled that the US Contingent was late to submit their appeal, and missed the deadline by a minute. This resulted in reinstated scores and authorities asked Chiles to return her medal to Barbosu, five days after she won it.
This whole series of events caused a lot of chaos in the gymnastics world, with several fans rallying in favor of Chiles. Meanwhile, some agreed with the notion to reward both gymnasts with bronze medals since the entire ordeal wasn’t their fault.
Gymnast icons like Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, and Betty Okino also wanted authorities to hold the judges accountable instead of focusing on stripping an athlete of her medals. The outrage paid off, and USA Gymnastics put out an official statement revealing that they have taken steps to defend Chiles with receipts and proof.
“USA Gymnastics on Sunday formally submitted a letter and video evidence to the CAS, conclusively establishing that Head Coach Cecile Landi’s request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, within the 1-minute deadline required by FIG rule.”
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Not only did the video evidence show that Landi submitted the request within 47 seconds of the scoring, but she also submitted a second statement 55 seconds after the score went up. This slashed away any decisions that the committee declared on the basis of the supposed inquiry delay.
The official statement also clarified that they only received access to the video after CAS’ decision went out. Hence, they couldn’t submit it earlier to appeal and avoid all the hassle.
The entire ordeal has come under a lot of criticism, especially for how this could be stressful for the athletes for no fault of theirs. Chiles also announced an indefinite social media break after the decision to take her medal away did the rounds. Still, amidst a sea of negative comments and chaotic decisions, Chiles seems to have the world supporting her and her achievement.
