Jordan Chiles Stripped of Bronze Medal in Controversial Floor Final Ruling.
American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of the bronze medal she initially won in the women’s floor final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) confirmed that Romania’s Ana Barbosu has been upgraded from fourth to third place after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by the Romanian Olympic Committee.
The controversy began when Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, submitted an inquiry regarding Chiles’ difficulty rating shortly after her routine. Initially, Chiles’ score was revised to 13.766, placing her in third and pushing Barbosu out of the medal positions. However, the Romanian team protested, arguing that the inquiry was submitted four seconds after the one-minute time limit, making it invalid.
CAS agreed with the Romanian appeal, reinstating Chiles’ original score of 13.666, which dropped her to fifth place. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that the bronze medal will now be reallocated to Barbosu.
USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee expressed their disappointment with the decision, stating, “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.”
Chiles, who also won gold in the women’s team event, has since faced significant online abuse during the appeal process. In response, she posted a series of broken heart emojis on social media and later announced that she would be stepping away from social media for the sake of her mental health.
Simone Biles, Chiles’ teammate, who won silver in the same event, publicly supported Chiles, urging her to “keep your chin up, Olympic champ.” Fellow gymnast Sunisa Lee also expressed her dismay over the situation, calling the decision “completely unacceptable” and “awful.”
The FIG and IOC are now coordinating the return of the medal from Chiles and the reallocation ceremony for Barbosu.
