By: Melissa Zhao

U.S. Olympic gymnast, Jordan Chiles, was stripped last Monday, August 5th, of her Olympic Bronze medal won in the floor exercise final after Romania’s challenging of her score was upheld by the judges. The Olympic Bronze medal would’ve been her first Olympic medal in her Gymnastics career, making it all the more disappointing for Team USA that her bronze medal was revoked.

“I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey,” Chiles wrote in a statement on her social media. But she vowed to continue fighting.

Chiles, at 23 years old, was the last gymnast to perform on the floor exercise final. Competition was fierce before she started her routine. Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu and her teammate, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea were both at a 13.700, and if Chiles beat that score, she would clinch a bronze medal. Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade, a Brazilian gymnast, had already claimed an early 1st and 2nd place, with Bǎrbosu and Maneca-Voinea tied at 3rd and 4th. Romania’s gymnasts were tense, waiting for the final score, but America’s team was even more nervous. Each victory is both a humongous achievement for the athlete and their team.

After Jordan’s performance, she received a score of 13.666, putting her in 5th place overall. However, Jordan’s coach, USA Gymnastics Coach Cecile Landi, filled out an inquiry about Chiles’s difficulty score. An inquiry is when the score has already been posted, and a coach may inquire about the Difficulty Score, first verbally and then in writing. Soon, the judges revised their score to a 13.766, putting her in 3rd place and earning hers a bronze medal, her first Olympic medal.

The win was amazing, making it the first time that all three female gymnasts on the Olympic podium were Black women. After so many years of discrimination, it is amazing that now people from all over the world can look up to the 3 champions when before Black women in gymnastics were marginalized.. On the podium, Jordan Chiles and her teammate, Simone Biles, who won 2nd place and her 11th career medal, playfully bowed to the floor exercise champion, Brazil’s star, Rebeca Andrade in a display of excellent sportsmanship.

However, after Chiles’s bronze, Romania made an inquiry that stated that the judges awarded the revised score too late and thus violated the 1-minute limit rule, which states that coaches must submit inquiries within a minute of the judge’s scoring. Later, it was announced that the Olympic bronze medal would no longer go to Chiles and would instead go to Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu.

Chiles was heartbroken, and the U.S. submitted proof that the score was revised within a minute. However, Romania still holds the bronze, as the judges’ decision is non-negotiable. “I am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career. Believe me when I say I have had many,” Chiles wrote on a post. “I will approach this challenge as I have others — and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing.”

Article link: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5698724/2024/08/13/jordan-chiles-olympic-gymnastics-bronze-medal-faq/