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Simone Biles Strongly Backs Jordan Chiles as Her Bronze Olympic Medal Gets Taken Away: 'Where Is the "Athlete Wellbeing" That Is Spoken of So Often?'
Simone Biles shows constant support to Jordan Chiles, who is at risk of losing her bronze Olympic medal, which she won during the floor final on August 5.
Simone Biles recently stepped in to support her teammate Jordan Chiles after Chiles had her bronze medal in the floor exercise stripped at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Firstly, the 27-year-old gymnast offered support through her Instagram story, mentioning how they all love her.
Then, Biles shared the International Olympic Committee's controversial ruling and quote-tweeted Australian gymnast Heath Thorpe's strong opinion on the IOC's decision by reposting it on X.
Heath Thorpe initially asked why athletes had to suffer despite an error on the judge’s side. The Australian gymnast wrote on X, “Why are the athletes the ones to suffer due to a judging error/oversight? Where is the accountability? Where is the 'athlete wellbeing' that is spoken of so often?”
It is important to note that Jordan Chiles became the third-place finisher at the floor final by scoring a 13.766 on August 5. She was awarded the bronze medal for taking this spot. However, a Romanian gymnast filed a petition claiming that Chiles had been awarded the medal incorrectly.
The judge for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) then ruled in favor of Barbosu on Aug. 10 and declared that the medal would be reallocated to her. This means Chiles will drop to fifth position, and Barbosu will take her third position, closely followed by Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who will secure the fourth spot.
Should this happen, Chiles would be the third gymnast in history to have an Olympic medal rescinded, following in the footsteps of Dong Fangxiao and Andreea Răducan from the 2000 Sydney Games.
Nonetheless, USA Gymnastics is fighting to reinstate Chiles' Olympic medal. They even submitted additional evidence of a video recording to the Court of Arbitration for Sport late Sunday. Moreover, in a letter dated August 10, the USA Gymnastics had previously stated that "the CAS ruling should be revised and Chiles' bronze medal score of 13.766 reinstated.”
Besides, Simone Biles isn't the only one who has backed the 23-year-old athlete. Recently, Suni Lee too questioned the judges while offering support to Chiles.
Lee stated; “All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges? Completely unacceptable. This is awful, and I'm gutted for Jordan [Chiles]. I got your back forever jo, u have all my flowers, and you will ALWAYS be an Olympic champion.”
Nonetheless, as the final decision awaits, it will be interesting to see how things unfold and whether Chiles' bronze medal will be reinstated.
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