American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of her bronze medal in the floor exercise, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Sunday. The medal would be given to her Romanian counterpart, Ana Bărbosu.
It comes after a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling on Saturday that said that the initial inquiry made by the USA over Chiles’ score in Monday’s floor exercise was filed after the deadline.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said that Chiles’ original score of 13.666 would be reinstated, and Barbosu’s position would be improved to third.
“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 Barbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in the 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.”
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said Sunday that it would appeal the decision.
“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 statement read.
“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 our case comprehensively.
“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.”
Chiles posted on her Instagram story after CAS’ ruling with four breaking hearts emojis and “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you.”
