Jordan Chiles' medal status in jeopardy after CAS ruling: 'We are devastated…'

The CAS rulings stood in favour of the Romanian gymnasts.

Jordan Chiles from Team USA gymnastics won her first individual medal on Monday, August 5 in the women's floor exercise final at the Paris Olympics. However, after a judge for the Court of Arbitration for Sports ruled in favour of the Romanian gymnasts, Chiles might be stripped of her bronze medal.

US' Jordan Chiles competes in the artistic gymnastics women's floor exercise final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris, on August 5, 2024. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (AFP)

Why did Chiles lose her bronze medal?

Chiles landed in fifth position initially after the round of games according to the judges’ score, however, her coach put in an immediate inquiry which resulted in her being shifted to the third position. The decision was made after the judges agreed with coach Cecile Lendi that Chiles’ difficulty score was less given she performed a leap incorporated with a split in the air while turning 540 degrees. Hence, she moved up the ladder and dethroned Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca Voinea.

The Romanian Olympic Committee was unhappy with the change in decision on Monday. The Committee decided on Saturday to reinstate Chiles's original score of 13.666. They protested to CAS who demoted Chiles back to the fifth position, below the other two gymnasts with a score of 13.700. The ruling stated, “ The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique shall determine the ranking of the Final of the women’s Floor exercise and assign the medal(s) in accordance with the above decision”.

The USA Gymnastics also released a statement to express their disappointment in the new ruling. They stated that they were devastated by the new occurrences on the matter. However, they also believed, "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,” as reported by People Magazine.

They further added in their statement about the constant hate comments Chiles was subjected to during the decision-making procedure. they asked to support athletes and not be involved to instigate or provoke them.

Jordan Chiles heartbroken over the new ruling

Before the ruling was released, Chiles shared several heartbroken emojis on her Instagram story. As soon as the ruling came out, she added, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.” Chiles went through online trolling and accusations of cheating in the game after the CAS decision was made. Her coach Lendi clapped back on allegations as she wrote, “Do I feel bad for the Romanian athlete? Of course I do! It was so sad and heartbreaking to see but it is the sport! Jordan won this bronze medal and didn’t steal anything from anyone. I simply did my job and fought for my athlete.”