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Why Is Jordan Chiles Stripped of Paris Olympic Bronze Medal? All You Need to Know
U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles must return her bronze medal in the floor exercise, the International Olympic Committee announced on Sunday.
![Jordan Chiles [Credit-Instagram@jordanchiles]](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-08/665699153_jordan-chiles-credit-x.jpg "Jordan Chiles [Credit-Instagram@jordanchiles]")
Jordan Chiles, an American gymnast, has been stripped of her bronze medal in floor exercise and must return it after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the investigation that propelled her from fifth to third place.
On Saturday, CAS determined that U.S. coach Cecile Landi's request to add 1 to Chiles' score, which propelled the 23-year-old to third place, fell outside the International Gymnastics Federation's (FIG) 1-minute timeframe.
In its verdict, CAS stated that the initial finishing order should be reinstated, implying that Romania's Ana Barbosu would replace Chiles as the bronze medalist. Her colleague Sabrina Maneca-Voinea would finish fourth, followed by Chiles in fifth.
Late Saturday night, FIG said it would obey the court's judgment and move Barosu to third.
On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee ordered Chile to surrender the bronze medal, stating that it would be reallocated to Barbosu.
The IOC said in a statement that it would contact the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committees about returning Chile's bronze medal and collaborate with the Romanian Olympic Committee on a reallocation event to commemorate Barbosu.
The quick change of circumstances adds to a challenging few days for all three sports personals.
Chiles hinted at her decision in an Instagram post on Saturday, stating that she is devastated and is "taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you."
Jordan's sister, Jazmin Chiles, stated on Instagram that Chiles was deprived of her medal "not because she wasn't good enough. But because the judges failed to give her difficulty and forced an inquiry to be made."
Chiles, a two-time Olympian, was supported by her colleagues from the United States.
"Sending you so much love Jordan," American star Simone Biles posted on Instagram. "Keep your chin up 'Olympic champ' we love you."
Biles earned the silver medal in the floor final, while Brazilian Rebeca Andrade won gold.
"All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?" Sunisa Lee, a six-time Olympic medalist, added to Instagram. "Completely unacceptable, this is awful and I'm gutted for jordan."
The judgment has "devastated" USA Gymnastics, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
"The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles' floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, by FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring," the group said.
Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea finished with similar scores of 13.700 in Monday's floor final, leaving them out of medal contention. Barbosu believed she had won bronze against Maneca-Voinea on a tiebreaker (a better execution score) and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.
Chiles was the final athlete to participate and was initially assigned a score of 13.666, putting her in fifth place, just behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi requested an inquiry into her score, and after a review, judges increased Chiles' total by 0.1. That was enough to beat off Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for the last podium slot.
Chiles also won a gold medal in the women's team final, completing their "redemption tour" after finishing second in Tokyo. However, this is not the end of her gymnastics career. She intends to return to UCLA and compete for the Bruins.
Also Read: Who Is Ana Barbosu? Romanian Gymnast Who Took Away Jordan Chiles’ Bronze Paris Olympics Medal
