IOC’s statement on Jordan Chiles after she's stripped of bronze medal amid score controversy
The International Olympics Committee has issued a statement after Jordan Chiles was stripped of her bronze medal.
The controversy began when when Team USA gymnast Chiles was awarded with the third place accolade at the Olympics floor final, following a difficulty score inquiry submitted by her coach, Cecile Canqueteau-Landi.
Simone Biles took home the silver medal, while Brazil's Rebeca Andrade took the gold.
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While Chiles had scored 13.666 in the final - initially putting her in fifth place - it was later upgraded to 13.766, which placed her third and ahead of Romanian athlete, Ana Barbosu.
Barbosu therefore lost her bronze medal, which was particularly gutting for the athlete as she had already started celebrating.
However, the decision to award Chiles bronze has now been overturned, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal from the Romanian Olympic Committee.
It claimed that the inquiry into Chiles' score was made four seconds outside of the one-minute window for appeals and therefore would need to be disregarded.
“Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in a statement.
“We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
Meanwhile, Barbosu also shared a statement, saying that her thoughts were with Jordan as well as fourth-place gymnast, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.
"Sabrina, Jordan, my thoughts are with you," she said.
"I know what you are feeling because I've been through the same. But I know you'll come back stronger.
"I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share the same podium."
Following the decision, the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee said they would be filing an appeal.
“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,” they said.
“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves.
“We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.”
Meanwhile, in a joint statement posted to X, USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said: "We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise.
"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.
"Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media.
"No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them.
"We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her."
Lucy Devine