Jordan Chiles had “no words” after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) stood firm in its decision to revoke the bronze medal she rightfully earned during the Women’s Gymnastics final at the Paris Olympics. For now, the medal will remain with Romania’s Ana BÄrbosu.
“This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey,” the 23-year-old penned in a statement shared to X on Aug. 15.
Chiles was poised to add a bronze medal to her already impressive collection, but her Olympic dreams were thwarted when CAS ruled on Aug. 14 that USA Gymnastics (USAG), the national governing body for Team USA, failed to provide evidence to counter the claim that they had requested a score change on Chiles’ behalf under the one-minute rule during a recent hearing with Romania.
According to a NewsOne report referencing earlier coverage by the Washington Post, USA Gymnastics has strongly contested the recent findings. They assert that they possess a video showing team head coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi was not late in filing her inquiry—she submitted it 47 seconds after the score was posted.
Her appeal was based on the judge’s omission of the difficulty of one of Chiles’ moves. After reviewing the appeal, the judges adjusted Chiles’ score, elevating her from fifth place to a bronze medal position. That’s when Team Romania complained, saying, without proof, that the appeal wasn’t filed in time, which is what led to the young athlete’s hard-earned medal being given to BÄrbosu.
Source: Naomi Baker / Getty
The lead judge on the ruling panel is under question.
Team USA officials are calling for a further investigation into the decision, suspecting a potential conflict of interest involving the Romanian judge who advocated for Chiles’ stripped medal. The ruling panel was led by Dr. Hamid Gharavi, a French attorney who lists Romania as a client and is currently serving as legal counsel to Romania in disputes at the World Bank’s International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes. The New York Times noted that Gharavi has worked on behalf of Romania for nearly a decade.
As Chiles struggles to wrap her head around the decision, the 23-year-old gymnast, who helped Team USA earn a gold medal at the Women’s team event during this year’s Olympics, said she was hurt to see all of the negative comments on social media directed towards her following the unfair decision.
“The unprompted racially driven attacks are wrong and extremely hurtful.”
Chiles isn’t letting the disparaging comments keep her down. The decorated athlete told fans Thursday that she would “never waver” from her ”integrity” or values as Team USA works to dispute the decision.
“I will never waver from my values of competing with integrity, striving for excellence, upholding the values of sportsmanship and the rules that dictate fairness,” her statement read. “I am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career. I will approach this challenge as I have others—and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing.”
Earlier this week, BÄrbosu took to her Instagram Stories to show love to Chiles after the CAS first announced its unfair decision.
“Sabrina [Maneca-Voinea], Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling because I’ve been through the same. But I know you’ll come back stronger,” Barbosu penned Aug. 11, while referencing Chiles and her fellow Team Romania member, who ended up being placed in fifth and fourth places, respectively, according to People.
This is some bull! We stand with Jordan Chiles and hope the CAS ruling can be reversed. She deserved that bronze medal.
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