By: Hannah Zhang

Jordan Chiles, a revered American gymnast, has been caught in a controversy regarding whether she or Ana Bărbosu of Romania should receive the bronze medal for the women’s gymnastics floor competition at the Paris Olympics on August 5th, 2024. Ultimately, though, the deciding factor for who the medal belongs to comes down to the matter of just four seconds.

The day of the gymnastics final was just like any other, with the order of the nine finalists’ determined by a random draw. There, Ana Bărbosu competed fifth and received a score of 13.700, placing her third, while Chiles went last and received a score of 13.666, placing her fifth.

However, Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, felt the judges had made an error when they failed to give Chiles full credit for a leap, and filed an inquiry. An inquiry is when a gymnast makes a verbal challenge to the judges after their routine, which must then be followed with a written inquiry, and can only happen after the final scores have been broadcasted. The inquiry was successful, and Chiles was awarded an extra tenth of a point, placing her in third and pushing Bărbosu off the podium.

This was evidently a shocking revelation for both Chiles and Bărbosu: Chiles was overcome with happiness while Bărbosu dropped her Romanian flag and left the floor in tears. The medal ceremony then proceeded with Chiles, Simone Biles of the USA, and Rebeca Andrade of Brazil in bronze, silver, and gold respectively.

This was not the end of the question of who should be in third, however. Regulations dictate that “inquiries must be made verbally before the score of the next gymnast is shown,” and that “the last gymnast competing in an event has only one minute to submit an inquiry,” as stated in the New York Times. Chiles, as the last competitor that day, had, according to the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, submitted her inquiry four seconds after the one minute time frame, which rendered the inquiry as invalid.

In the end, it was decided by the International Gymnastics Federation (also known as the FIG) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the bronze medal would be reallocated to Bărbosu, who will receive it in a ceremony in Romania’s capital. The IOC has already been in contact with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to discuss the return of Chiles’ bronze medal.

Following this decision, Ana Bărbosu has expressed her support on social media for both Chiles and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (another Romanian gymnast who was just short of a bronze medal). “I know very well that it hurts,” she said, “because I have been through the same states. But I know you and I’m sure you’ll have the strength to come back even stronger.”

Chiles, on the other hand, has since stated in an Instagram story that she would be removing herself from social media for the time being to protect her well-being.