PARIS (AP) — Romanian Ana Barbosu could replace American Jordanian Chili like the Olympic Bronze medalist in floor gymnastics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport cancelled a call of Chiles’ coach who propelled her onto the podium.
CAS ruled on Saturday that American coach Cecile Landi’s appeal to add 0.1 to Chiles’ score, which moved her from fifth to third, came outside the one-minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
Ana Barbosu of Romania competes in the women’s artistic gymnastics individual floor final at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
CAS wrote in its decision that the original finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added that the FIG should determine the final standings “in accordance with the above decision,” but left it up to the FIG to decide who would get the medal behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the United States.
FIG spokeswoman Meike Behrensen said in an email to The Associated Press that a statement from the organization would be made “in due course,” but did not provide a timetable.
The Romanian Olympic Committee had requested that three bronze medals be awarded.
Chiles alluded to this decision in a Instagram Story Saturday, saying she was heartbroken and was “taking this time and stepping away from social media for my mental health, thank you.”
Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea were left out of the medals Monday’s floor final after finishing with an even score of 13.700. Barbosu thought he had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker – a higher execution score – and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.
Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially received a score of 13.666 that placed her in fifth place, just behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an investigation into Chiles’ score, saying after the awards ceremony that she had nothing to lose.
The judges granted the appeal, edging Chiles ahead of Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for the final podium spot.
Romania also appealed to CAS to have 0.1 added to Maneca-Voinea’s score because she was wrongly penalised for going out of bounds during her routine. CAS rejected that appeal on Saturday.
USA Gymnastics said in a statement that it was “devastated” by the decision.
“The inquiry into the difficulty rating of Jordan Chiles’ floor routine was filed in good faith and, in our view, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the organization wrote.
Chiles, 23, became a target on social media following the late change, with critics demanding she return her medal or making racist remarks. posted on X Earlier this week, “it’s funny how people still can’t be happy for someone.”
Chiles’ mother, Gina Chiles, denounced the criticism in a post, writing that she was “tired” of the derogatory comments directed at Jordan.
“My daughter is a highly decorated Olympic athlete with a big heart and an unparalleled level of sportsmanship,” Gina Chiles posted“And they give him disgusting names.”
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
