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US gymnast Jordan Chiles must return the bronze medal she won in the floor exercise after a court ruling decided her score had been improperly judged, although the United States have confirmed they will appeal.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided an appeal made by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the competition that saw Chiles’ score increase by 0.1 and moving her from fifth to third securing her a bronze medal.
The CAS ruling on Saturday said that that the on floor appeal by Landi came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). The committee wrote that the enquiry came 1 minute 4 seconds after the score was posted meaning it did not meet the desired criteria for an appeal.
CAS ruled that the initial finishing order should be restored with Romania’s Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea finishing third and fourth respectively with Chiles back down to fifth.
They left the final ranking decision to the FIG who determined it was up to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to decide on potentially reallocating the bronze medal.
On Sunday the IOC confirmed the decision to strip Chiles of the medal and give it to Barbosu who was in third place before Chiles’ score was upgraded.
In a statement, the IOC said: “The IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu (Romania). We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
Chiles took to instagram on Saturday following the CAS ruling saying she is “taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.”
USA Gymnastics released a statement saying it was devastated by the ruling. They wrote: “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.”
Meanwhile, Chiles’ gymnastics teammate Simone Biles added: “Sending you so much love Jordan. Keep your chin up ‘Olympic champ’ we love you.”
Furthermore the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee released a statement comfirming that they would appeal against the decision.
It read: “The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) will be appealing the recent decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding Jordan Chiles.
“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed.
“The initial error occurred in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision. As a result, we were not properly represented or afforded the opportunity to present the case comprehensively.
“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to ensure that Jordan Chiles receives the recognition she deserves. We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will contonue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.”
The two potential places the USOPC could take the appeal would be to Switzerland’s highest court, the Swiss Tribunal, or the European Court of Human Rights.
