American gymnast Jordan Chiles is set to be stripped of the bronze medal she won during the floor all-around competition at the Paris Olympics, following a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling Saturday. Her sister Jazmin confirmed the news in an Instagram story, writing, “Please keep Jordan (and my family) in your prayers,” she began. “Racism is real, it exists, it is alive and well.”
“They have officially, 5 days later, stripped her of one of her medals. Not because she didn’t win, not because she was drugged, not because she stepped out of bounds,” Jazmin continued. “Not because she wasn’t good enough. But because the judges failed to give her difficulty and forced an inquiry to be made.”
Chiles was the final athlete to compete in Monday night’s event and initially received a score of 13.666, which put her behind Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea, who each earned scores of 13.700. Following Landi’s inquiry, judges gave Chiles an adjusted score of 13.766.
The inquiry pointing out that she should have received an extra 0.1 point for difficulty, filed by Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi, was filed four seconds past the one-minute allowed for protests, according to the sports court body. “Her bronze was stripped over 4 seconds of time that would never needed to happen if the judges did their job,” Jazmin added.
Chiles herself posted four broken heart emojis in an Instagram story and wrote, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you.”
In a separate post, sister Jazmin underlined, “Just so y’all aware — In the HISTORY of the Olympics NO ONE has ever been stripped of their medal for this. Also- there are only TWO ways you can be stripped of a medal. Cheating or doping. She did neither.” Jazmin also joined X to continue her public fight on behalf of her sister.
Gymnastics fan account The Medal Count explained that gymnasts typically have four minutes to file an inquiry — except the last gymnast to compete, who is only allowed one minute.
Gymnastics podcast GymCastic also appeared to confirm that Chiles will have to return her medal. “A source told us: USAG and Romania have agreed to share the bronze. IOC and FIG said No. They have asked Jordan to return her medal,” they wrote on X.
Since Monday, Jordan Chiles has faced attacks that have frequently been racially based on social media. Many of the negative comments have called on her to return the medal. Her mother called out the racist attacks on X.
“The racist disgusting comments are still happening in 2024,” Gina Chiles wrote. “I’m tired of people who say it no longer exists. My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched…and she’s being called disgusting things.”
The Court of Arbitration for Sport advised that Romania’s Ana Barbosu should be awarded third, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth place, but has ultimately left the decision up to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
Romania’s Olympic Committee had requested that three bronze medals be awarded to Chiles, Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea.
“We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement released Saturday. “The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.”
“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support, or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her,” the statement concluded.
