The International Olympic Committee announced on Sunday that American gymnast Jordan Chiles will lose the bronze medal she received in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics.
According to CNN, the medal will now be awarded to Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu.
This decision follows a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Saturday, which found that the U.S. inquiry into Chiles’ score during Monday’s gymnastics floor exercise final was submitted after the one-minute deadline allowed for such challenges.
As a result, the International Gymnastics Federation reinstated Chiles’ original score of 13.666, while Bărbosu’s score of 13.700 was elevated, securing her the bronze medal.
In response to this ruling, the IOC issued a statement confirming the reallocation of the medal, stating, “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 statement added that the IOC is coordinating with the Romanian National Olympic Committee regarding a reallocation ceremony and with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee concerning the return of the bronze medal.
CNN reached out to the USOPC and USA Gymnastics for comment on whether they plan to appeal the CAS decision.
USA Gymnastics, in a statement released on Saturday, expressed deep disappointment, saying they were “devastated” by the outcome.
The final moments of Monday’s competition were tense and filled with emotion.
After Chiles completed her routine, Bărbosu initially believed she had secured the bronze with a score of 13.700.
Chiles had initially scored 13.666, but her coaches challenged the difficulty rating of her routine, successfully adding 0.1 to her score, which temporarily moved her into third place, just behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade and her American teammate Simone Biles.
The moment became iconic, as the two American gymnasts joined Andrade on the first all-Black Olympics gymnastics podium, bowing together in a powerful display of unity.
However, the CAS ruling that the inquiry on Chiles’ behalf was submitted after the regulation time, brought Chiles’ bronze medal into question.
Following the CAS decision, Chiles posted a message on her Instagram story, sharing four broken heart emojis and stating, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you.”
