Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles is at the center of an Olympic medal controversy that traces back to the women’s floor exercise final on Aug. 5, 2024.
Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports
Romania’s Ana Barbosu competed in the artistic gymnastics women’s floor exercise final along with eight other gymnasts including Jordan Chiles, who performed last. Barbosu earned a score of 13.700 for her performance, tying with Romanian teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.
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Romania’s Ana Barbosu earned a score of 13.700 for her performance in the artistic gymnastics women’s floor exercise final, tying with Romanian teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. Barbosu placed above Voinea because of a better execution score.
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The women’s floor exercise final was the only individual Olympic competition that Chiles qualified for in Paris. She won gold with her USA teammates in the team final on July 30, 2024.
Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports
Jordan Chiles was the last to perform in the artistic gymnastics women’s floor exercise final. She initially earned a score of 13.666, putting her in fifth place behind Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea who each scored 13.700. But after U.S. coach Cecile Landi filed an inquiry, or scoring appeal, with the judges, her score increased by one tenth of a point to 13.766.
Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports
Cecile Landi, who is Jordan Chiles’ personal coach in addition to being the U.S. gymnastics coach in Paris, appealed her difficulty score, arguing Chiles had not been given full credit for a tour jete, which is essentially a leap doing the splits while rotating in mid-air. After her coach filed the inquiry, Chiles difficulty score was raised by 0.100, which propelled her from 13.666 to 13.766.
Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports
U.S. gymnastics coach Cecile Landi, Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles celebrate after the inquiry amended her score to 13.766, making Chiles the bronze medal winner in the women’s floor exercise final.
Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports
Jordan Chiles’ performance led to a moment that inspired people around the world with Simone Biles, who won silver in the floor exercise, and her bowing to gold medalist Rebecca Andrade. The image even prompted an article on the Olympics official website proposing it might be the photo of Paris 2024. In an interview after receiving their medals, Biles said Chiles asked her if they should bow on the podium to Brazil’s Andrade. Biles agreed, and it created a moving symbol of sportsmanship at the Paris Games.
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Simone Biles’ silver, Rebecca Andrade’s gold and Jordan Chiles’ bronze in the women’s floor exercise final made history as the first all-Black podium in Olympic gymnastics.
Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports
Days after the historic women’s floor exercise final, Jordan Chiles was faced with the news that she might lose her bronze medal. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the judging panel for the women’s floor exercise final made a mistake in granting an inquiry filed by U.S. coach Cecile Landi. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation had challenged the validity of that inquiry, saying it was filed four seconds beyond the deadline by which any scoring appeals had to be submitted. USA Gymnastics responded with video evidence that Landi made the verbal inquiry 47 seconds after Chiles’ score was posted. CAS quickly rejected it, saying its ruling could not be reconsidered even in light of new evidence. The case is still ongoing.
Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports
Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu was given an Olympic bronze medal by Mihai Covaliu (L) the president of Romanian Olympic Comitee (COSR), on Aug. 16, 2024 in Bucharest, Romania for her Olympic floor exercise performance at the Paris Games on Aug. 5, 2024. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to grant her a bronze medal following a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling, which found that her coach submitted the inquiry into her score after the one-minute deadline to do so had passed. CAS later said it was unable to reconsider the decision, despite receiving video evidence from USA Gymnastics that the verbal inquiry was filed within 47 seconds.
Daniel Mihailescu, AFP Via Getty Images
Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu was awarded an Olympic bronze medal on Aug. 16, 2024 in Bucharest, Romania. Barbosu addressed Jordan Chiles as she received an Olympic bronze medal for the floor exercise amid an ongoing scoring controversy that could see Chiles lose the bronze medal she was initially awarded. “I can’t help but think about Sabrina and Jordan right now,” Barbosu said in Romanian. “It’s a difficult situation for us, with so many uncertainties and overwhelming emotions. I hope everyone understands that we have not done anything wrong at the Olympics. And that the Olympic spirit is more important than any misunderstanding between the authorities.”
DANIEL MIHAILESCU, AFP Via Getty Images
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