It appears USA gymnast Jordan Chiles may have to return the bronze medal she earned at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) state on Saturday that the USA appeal to Chiles’ score in the gymnastics floor exercise final on Monday should not have been granted because it was filed four seconds too late, missing the one-minute deadline.
This means her final score will go back to the original 13.666, which leaves her in fifth place and without a medal. The decision puts Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu back in third with a 13.700.
The judges bumped Chiles’ initial score up by 0.100 points to 13.766 after her coach, Cecile Landi, successfully challenged the difficulty score for a move called the tour jeté full. This put Chiles on the podium with gold medalist Simone Biles and silver medalist Rebeca Andrade.
Biles, who helped Chiles and Team USA win a gold medal in the team final, left a strong message for her teammate on her Instagram story.
“Sending you so much love Jordan. Keep your chin up Olympic champ! We love you!”
Chiles initially indicated on her own Instagram story that the decision had been made, displaying her feelings with four broken heart emojis. She also left a message to her fans saying, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health. Thank you.”
Suni Lee, another member of Team USA women’s gymnastics, also left a message for her teammate on social media:
Even USA Gymnastics was devastated by the news. It made a joint statementwith the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee regarding the decision.
Fans will have to wait for official word on the bronze medal decision, but it’s not looking good for Chiles.
