Jordan Chiles is attempting to regain her bronze medal from the Paris Olympics, with Simone Biles potentially standing behind her in support. Chiles, along with her legal team, filed an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland after being bumped from third to fifth place in the women’s gymnastics floor routine final due to a late appeal submission by U.S. coaches. Despite being asked to return the bronze medal, Chiles has not done so, and her legal team has submitted footage from Biles’ Netflix docuseries in support of her case. They argue that the video evidence proves that Chiles’ appeal was submitted within the required timeframe, and that their right to be heard was violated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s final ruling.
Chiles and her legal team have raised concerns about a conflict of interest involving the CAS president, Hamid G. Gharavi, due to his ties to Romania, the country initially awarded the bronze medal. Chiles has spoken out about the incident, stating that she believes the controversy is not just about the medal, but also about racial discrimination she has faced. The incident marked the first time in Olympic history that three Black gymnasts stood on the podium together, with Biles being a strong supporter of Chiles during this time. The judging controversy has brought international scrutiny upon the judges involved in the event, with both the CAS and USOPC condemning the outcome and calling for changes to prevent similar situations in the future.
The initial ruling and subsequent controversy surrounding Chiles’ bronze medal have sparked backlash from various individuals, including gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci and Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. Barbosu, the Romanian gymnast initially awarded the bronze medal, has expressed sympathy for Chiles and hopes that all three athletes involved will eventually receive bronze medals. Chiles became only the third gymnast in history to have an Olympic medal stripped, following in the footsteps of Dong Fangxiao of China and Andreea Răducan of Romania, who both lost their medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics for different reasons.
The situation involving Chiles’ bronze medal has been emotionally charged for both Americans and Romanians since the day of the floor exercise final in Paris. The controversy surrounding the late appeal submission and subsequent score changes has raised questions about fairness and transparency in gymnastics judging. Chiles’ legal team has been working to present evidence to support their case for reinstating her as the official medalist, with the hopes of righting what they perceive as an injustice in the judging process. As the situation continues to unfold, the gymnastics community and fans around the world are watching closely to see how it will be resolved.
