By: Jerry Zhang
On August 5, 2024, at the Paris Olympics, American gymnast Jordan Chiles stepped onto the podium as the third-place finisher in the women’s gymnastics floor event alongside second-place Simone Biles and first-place Rebecca Andrade. However, five days later, on August 10, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the bronze medal would be reallocated to Romanian gymnast Aba Bărbosu.
Nine gymnasts competed in the women’s gymnastics floor event finals. Bărbosu, competing fifth, scored 13.700. Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, another Romanian gymnast, competed eighth and also scored 13.700 but received a one-tenth deduction for stepping out of bounds. As a result, Bărbosu maintained third place due to her higher execution score. Although Maneca-Voinea later asserted that she hadn’t stepped out of bounds, her coach did not request a review at the time.
Chiles, who performed last, scored 13.666, placing her fifth. However, Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, believed that the judges had not given Chiles full credit for a leap, resulting in a difficulty score of 5.8 instead of 5.9. Landi submitted an inquiry challenging Chiles’ difficulty score, and as a result, the judges agreed that Chiles deserved the extra tenth. Her score was then raised to 13.766, moving her into third place ahead of Bărbosu.
The Romanian Gymnastics Federation disagreed with this opinion and filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), challenging Chiles’ inquiry on the basis that it was submitted four seconds late and should be dismissed. The CAS agreed with the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and reinstated Chiles’ initial score of 13.666.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) gave the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) the responsibility to determine the final rankings and redistribute the medals. FIG adjusted the results in line with the CAS decision, placing Bărbosu in third place. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was entrusted with deciding who should receive the bronze medal. The IOC announced that it would reallocate the bronze medal to Bărbosu and said that it was in contact with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee “regarding the return of (Chiles’) bronze medal.”
Now, it was the U.S.’ turn to challenge the ruling. One day after CAS’ decision, USA Gymnastics said it had new video evidence showing Landi’s request was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, which fell in the one-minute window. However, CAS notified USA Gymnastics that it could not accept the appeal because its rules “do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered.”
With all the controversies surrounding the 2024 Olympics, this incident adds another issue to the ongoing debates: ranging from the inclusion of Russia, Belarus, and Israel in the competition, to the opening ceremony, the Dutch selection of Steven van de Velde, issues in women’s boxing, and more.
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