Following the CAS ruling to strip gymnast Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal five days after the Gymnastics floor event, the United States Olympic Committee announced that it will appeal the arbitration body’s decision.
“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully won the Bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that must be addressed,” the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee statement said.
CAS ruled Saturday that U.S. team coach Cecile Landi’s appeal to add 0.1 to Chiles’ score went outside the FIG’s 1-minute window. The ad hoc committee wrote that Landi’s query came 1 minute and 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted.
The IOC said in a statement that it will be in touch with the USOPC regarding the return of Chiles’ bronze and will work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss a reallocation ceremony in Barbosu’s honor.
“The initial error occurred in FIG’s scoring, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time and notice to effectively challenge the decision,” said the USOPC statement, which was released Sunday.
It was not clear what exact process would be followed first for the appeal. The two possible venues where the USOPC could file the appeal would be to Switzerland’s highest court, the Swiss Tribunal, or to the European Court of Human Rights.
CAS wrote on Saturday that the initial finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, Romania’s Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organisation added that the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the previous decision” but left it up to the federation to decide who would get the medal behind gold winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medallist Simone Biles of the United States.
IOC HAS TO DECIDE ON BRONZE REALLOCATION
The FIG said it was the IOC’s decision to reallocate the medal. The IOC confirmed on Sunday that it would respect the FIG’s decision and seek to recover Chiles’ medal.
The rapid turn of events adds another layer to what has been a difficult few days for all three athletes.
Romanian gymnastics legend and 1976 Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci feared for Ana Barbosu’s mental health following the harrowing sequence in which she went from bronze medallist to fourth-place finisher.
Comaneci, at the same time, criticized the judges for the way they scored Maneca-Voinea’s routine: the gymnast was deducted 0.1 points for going out of bounds, but viral replays showed she narrowly stayed within bounds. Comaneci urged the Romanian Olympic Committee to protest, which it did, but CAS rejected that appeal.
Jazmin Chiles, Jordan’s sister, said on Instagram that Chiles was stripped of a medal “not because she wasn’t good enough. But because the judges didn’t give her a hard time and forced an investigation.”
BARBOSU BLAMES THE JUDGES
Barbosu made it clear after returning to Romania that he had no problem with Chiles.
“I just want everyone to be fair, we don’t want to start picking on other athletes of any nationality,” Barbosu told reporters. “We as athletes don’t deserve something like that, we just want to perform to the best of our ability and be rewarded based on our performance. The problems are with the judges, their calculations and decisions.”
Jordan faces derogatory comments
Jordan’s mother, Gina Chiles, addressed the criticism in a post, writing that she was “tired” of the disparaging comments directed at her daughter.
“My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and unmatched sportsmanship. And she is being told disgusting things.”
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