Team USA women’s gymnastics star Jordan Chiles has been stripped of her bronze medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against her, but it sounds like Team USA is equipped with strong evidence and intends to keep fighting on her behalf.
Chiles originally finished fifth in the women’s floor event with a score of 13.666, but her score was then bumped up by 0.1 after an inquiry from her coach revealed that judges scored her routine incorrectly. The new score gave her the bronze medal over Romania’s Ana Barbosu, who had already begun celebrating her apparent bronze medal victory.
However, following an appeal from Romania, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the inquiry from the United States was “untimely,” as it came four seconds after the limit of one minute to submit an inquiry. As a result, Chiles was stripped of her medal and it was given to Barbosu, even though Chiles’ accurate score was higher.
Things took a turn on Sunday when the United States announced that they had new evidence proving that the inquiry was indeed submitted on time.
“USA Gymnastics on Sunday formally submitted a letter and video evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, conclusively establishing that Head Coach Cecile Landi’s request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, within the 1-minute deadline required by FIG rule,” Team USA said in a statement on Sunday.
However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport was not able to overturn its decision, stating that “rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented.”
Team USA, however, has vowed to keep fighting “to ensure the just scoring placement” and to make sure that Chiles retains her medal.
“We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring placement, and medal award for Jordan,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement.
We’ll have to see how it all plays out.
