The Olympic bronze medal won by Jordan Chiles of the United States in the floor exercise event at the 2024 Paris Olympics has been thrown into uncertainty. The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Saturday that the scoring inquiry that led to Chiles claiming third place was submitted just 4 seconds past the 1-minute deadline, rendering it invalid. This means that Chiles may have to give up her hard-earned bronze medal.
The inquiry in question propelled Chiles ahead of two Romanian gymnasts who were originally tied for third place. These gymnasts had already started celebrating what they thought was their bronze medal when Chiles’ adjusted score came in. Initially, Chiles had scored 13.666, which would have placed her in fifth position behind Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, Simone Biles of the United States, and the two Romanians, Ana Bărbosu and Sabrina Voinea.
After the scoring inquiry, Chiles’ score was adjusted to 13.766 as the United States had appealed for a reconsideration of the difficulty level of her routine. This new score pushed her ahead of Bărbosu and Voinea, who both had a score of 13.700.
The ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport only applies to Chiles’ score and not her final ranking or medal status. The ultimate decision will be made by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique.
So far, neither the FIG nor the International Olympic Committee has issued a statement regarding the CAS ruling. However, USA Gymnastics expressed their disappointment on social media, stating, “We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise.” They defended the inquiry into Jordan Chiles’ routine difficulty, claiming it was filed in good faith and accordance with FIG rules to ensure fair scoring.
