Alert – USA chiefs set to APPEAL decision to strip Jordan Chiles of Olympic bronze medal after bombshell ruling

The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has appealed the Olympic chiefs’ decision to take Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal after she stepped on the podium for the floor competition in Paris.

Early on Sunday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed it will re-award Chiles’ bronze medal to Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu after the sport’s highest court voided an on-floor appeal from Chiles’ coach.

Hours later, the USOPC came up with a statement, expressing their belief that ‘Chiles rightfully earned’ the bronze medal.

‘There were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the Gymnastics Federation (FIG) ad the subsequent CAS appeal process that needed to be addressed,’ they wrote. 

‘The initial error happened in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision. As a result, we were not properly represented or afforded the opportunity to present our case comprehensively.’

Jordan Chiles has been forced to return her bronze medal which she won in the floor final

‘Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to ensure that Jordan Chiles receives the recognition she deserves,’ the statement continued. ‘We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.’ 

The IOC announced on Sunday it was reallocating the bronze from last Monday’s women’s floor final after FIG said Saturday night it would respect the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to third.

The decision came less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided a scoring appeal made by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the competition that placed Chiles on the podium.

CAS ruled Saturday that Landi’s appeal to have 0.1 added to Chiles´ score came outside the one-minute window allowed by the FIG. The ad hoc committee wrote that Landi´s inquiry came 1 minute, 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted.

The IOC said in a statement it will be in touch with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee regarding the return of Chiles’ bronze and will work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss a reallocation ceremony honoring Barbosu.

Chiles stepped on the podium after last Monday's women's floor final in Paris 

Chiles' bronze medal would have been her first podium in an individual Olympics event

Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu has been retrospectively awarded the bronze medal

CAS wrote on Saturday that the initial finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added the FIG should determine the final ranking 'in accordance with the above decision,' but left it up to the federation to decide who would get the medal behind gold winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the U.S. 

Chiles hinted at the decision in an Instagram story on Saturday, indicating she is heartbroken and is 'taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.'

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 failed to give her difficulty and forced an inquiry to be made.'

USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Saturday it is 'devastated' by the ruling.

The appeal from coach Cecil Lendi was overturned for being outside a one-minute window

American superstar Simone Biles offered her support to Chiles in a social media post

Barbosu has no issue with Chiles despite the controversy and directed criticism to the judges

'The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles´ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,' the organization wrote. 

Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially given a score of 13.666 that placed her fifth, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an inquiry on Chiles´ score was announced.

'At this point, we had nothing to lose, so I was like `We´re just going to try,`' Landi said after the awards ceremony. 'I honestly didn´t think it was going to happen, but when I heard her scream, I turned around and was like `What?´'

Judges awarded the appeal, leapfrogging Chiles past Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea.

Barbosu made it a point after returning home to Romania that she had no problem with Chiles.