Gymnastics Legend Nadia Comaneci Frustrated Over Jordan Chiles Olympic Medal Controversy After Simone Biles, Suni Lee and Mikaela Shiffrin

After Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee & Mikaela Shiffrin, legendary gymnast Nada Comaneci came in support of the Jordan Biles bronze medal controversy.

By Blesson Daniel

Published on Aug 16, 2024 | 08:41 PM IST | 124.4K

Nadia Comaneci & Jordan Chiles [Credit-X]

Romanian gymnastics icon Nadia Comaneci is upset over the Jordan Chiles issue at the 2024 Olympics after Simone Biles, Suni Lee, and Mikaela Shiffrin came to speak about the incident.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has stripped Chiles of her bronze medal in the Olympics' floor exercise final. Instead, Romania's Ana Barbosu has been reinstated as the third-place finisher.

As a consequence, the USA Gymnastics star was requested to relinquish her medal, prompting widespread condemnation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), and the CAS.

On Thursday, Comaneci expressed her dissatisfaction with the situation via Instagram Stories. While the five-time Olympic gold winner did not comment, she did share a few posts critical of the Chiles scandal.

One of the postings Comaneci shared came from an account called Inside Gym, which criticized the CAS for its verdict and how all sides handled the situation.

"Somebody needs to make this right. Acknowledging the injustice is not enough," Inside Gym wrote. "CAS Report says it is not in a position to 'apply equitable principles,' otherwise it would have. This process is infuriating and the athletes deserve better. Way better."

The post was accompanied by a statement from the CAS, which stated that the agency "would surely have attributed a bronze medal to all three gymnasts" if they had been in "a position to apply equitable principles."

In another tweet, Comaneci featured a letter from Cristina Bontas, a former Romanian gymnast and Olympian who earned bronze in the floor exercise final at the 1992 Olympics. Bontas was tied with Shannon Miller of the United States and Tatiana Gutsu of the Soviet Union for third place at the time.

Bontas contended that, as happened in 1992, the judges may have elected to award all three gymnasts bronze medals.

"What's wrong with this picture?!?! Maybe it was controversial at the time too but in the end it was in the judges power to decide," Bontas wrote.

Nadia Comaneci's outburst comes after Jordan Chiles issued a statement expressing her grief at the "unjust" outcome of events.

Chiles placed sixth in the floor exercise final with a score of 13.666. Ana Barbosu came in third with 13.700, but fellow Romanian Sabrina Voinea finished fourth due to a tie-breaker (higher difficulty score).

Chiles' coach, Cecile Landi, questioned the gymnast's execution score. After a lengthy discussion, the judges agreed to award Chiles an additional 0.10 points, raising her score from 13.666 to 13.766, allowing her to surpass both Barbosu and Voinea for the bronze medal.

The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee then filed an appeal about the scoring problem, and the CAS determined that Landi's challenge came four seconds beyond the one-minute deadline. The CAS then determined to nullify Chiles' extra point and restore the previous rankings.

The International Gymnastics Federation later followed the CAS verdict and reinstated the original results, recognizing Barbosu as the true third-place winner. In line with the conclusions taken, the International Olympic Committee ordered that Chiles return her bronze medal.

Barbosu is now scheduled to get her bronze medal on Friday, however, it is unclear whether Chiles has returned hers or if the identical medal will be presented to the Romanian star.

Also Read: Why Is Jordan Chiles Stripped of Paris Olympic Bronze Medal? All You Need to Know