Jordan Chiles and USA Gymnastics have lost their appeal to keep her bronze medal awarded at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Officials said an arbitration panel will not reconsider their decision to change the score for Chile’s floor routine, which was modified after the competition took place.
“USA Gymnastics was notified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday that their rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement released on Monday, according to ESPN. “We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan.”
Chiles had recorded a score of 13.666 in the gymnastics final on Aug. 5, while Romania’s Ana Barbosu scored 13.700. Team USA coach Cecile Landi appealed the decision, stating the judges incorrectly valued the difficulty of Chile’s routine. Judges moved her score to 13.766, awarding her third place.
Romanian Olympic officials then questioned the decision and an independent court agreed to go back to Chiles’s previous score, according to NPR. Team USA came back with another appeal, which the Court of Arbitration for Sport said was four seconds too late (gymnasts have only one minute to appeal their score). On Saturday, CAS eventually announced that Chiles would have to return her bronze medal and that the award would be given to Borbosu.
USA Gymnastics doubled down on their claim on Sunday. It said it submitted video evidence to the court that Coach Landi had submitted her inquiry within a minute.
USA Gymnastics has submitted additional evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. pic.twitter.com/GOKymbAtcq
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) August 11, 2024
“USA Gymnastics on Sunday formally submitted a letter and video evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, 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,” a statement read, asking that the “ruling be revised and Chiles’ bronze-medal score of 13.766 reinstated.”
CAS announced its final decision on Monday, noting that Chiles must return her bronze medal, according to USA Gymnastics. Further appeals could take years and may go to the Swiss Tribunal, which is Switzerland’s highest court, or the European Court of Human Rights.
