By: Kyle Xu

The Paris Olympics ended this Saturday, but the recipient of the bronze medal in the women’s gymnastics floor exercise is still widely talked about in controversy.

On August 5th, the finalists of the floor exercise drew to find out the order of their performances. Barbosu drew 5th. Sabrina Maneca-Voinea drew eight. They both scored a 13.700 and were set for the bronze medal.

Then, Jordan Chiles of the USA performed last and took 13.666. High, but not high enough for the podium.

That’s when her coach, Cecile Landi, filed an inquiry to the judges because Landi felt that the judges had not given full credit for one of her leaps. The judges agreed, bumping her up to a 13.766.

Chiles’ face of resignation instantly turned into elation. She would be on the medal stand within minutes. When the news rang out, Barbosu’s face screwed up in disbelief. She left the field in tears.

All went well at the medal ceremony, as silver medalist Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles both bowed to Rebeca Andrade, the long-standing gold medalist.

But then the Romanian Gymnastics Federation challenged the Court of Arbitration for Sport, saying that Chiles’ inquiry was submitted four seconds late. CAS referred the matter to the FIG, the International Gymnastics Federation.

FIG stated that Barbosu should’ve won, as she placed third legally. CAS then determined that Chiles would have to return the bronze medal, which would be given to Barbosu during a gymnastics event in Bucharest.

Chiles expressed her sadness. On Instagram, she posted four broken heart emojis and stated that she was “taking [her] time and removing [herself] from social media for” mental health related issues.

Barbosu remained sportsmanly. “I know very well that it hurts, 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. I sincerely hope that at the next Olympic Games we will be on the same podium. This is my dream,” she said, talking about Jordan Chiles.