By: Benjamin He
Although the hype from the Paris Olympics has simmered down since the games ended on Sunday, a controversy concerning the women’s gymnastics department still boils. The ongoing drama revolves around the bronze medal, and which of two women should be allowed to wear it: American Jordan Chiles, or Romanian Ana Bărbosu. In the games, the medal was originally awarded to Chiles, but later judgment determined it belonged to Ana Bărbosu.
During the games itself, nine gymnasts from all over the world fought for a medal in the floor exercise finals after landing the qualifications. Their routine orders were determined randomly. Bărbosu went fifth, receiving a 13.700. Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, another Romanian gymnast, competed eighth and also received a 13.700, but Bărbosu managed to stay in third due to a higher execution score. Maneca-Voinea’s score showed a one-tenth point deduction for stepping out of bounds once, although the gymnast claims that she did not commit this error.
American Jordan Chiles went last, getting rewarded with a 13.666. She was placed fifth. Bărbosu celebrated winning a medal by waving a Romanian flag. However, Chile’s coach, Cecile Landi, felt that Chiles hadn’t gotten her full credit for a leap, so her difficulty score was misrepresented as a 5.8 instead of a 5.9. After a review and an inquiry made by Landi, judges agreed to award Chile’s an extra one-tenth of a point for completing the leap. Her score was raised to a 13.766, which pushed Bărbosu out of third.
Chiles was seen cheering in the stadium while Bărbosu dropped the flag in shock at the new revelation. The medal ceremony proceeded with silver medalist Simone Biles and gold medalist Rebeca Andrade stepping onto the podium alongside Chiles.
Afterwards, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) claiming that Landi’s inquiry was submitted four seconds too late, as coaches only have one minute to submit inquiries, and therefore her score should be deemed invalid. The CAS agreed to this before turning to the International Gymnastics Federation (alternatively called the FIG), the governing body for gymnastics.
The CAS dismissed an appeal regarding Maneca-Voinea’s score and the one-tenth neutral deduction, leaving her out of the running for top three. Romania had requested that three bronze medals be awarded to Chiles, Bărbosu and Maneca-Voinea.
Later, the FIG decided to alter the results in the CAS’s ruling’s favor. They placed Bărbosu in third place but left the decision of who got the medal to the International Olympic Committee, who eventually decided to give the medal to Bărbosu.
“I have no words,” Chiles wrote on Instagram. “This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey.”