The U.S. Olympic Committee is challenging a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to revoke Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal in the gymnastics floor exercise final, CNN reports.
Chiles originally received a score of 13.666 in last week’s floor final, narrowly missing Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu’s bronze-winning score of 13.700. However, Chiles’ coaches successfully appealed her difficulty score, raising it by 0.1 and securing her the bronze medal.
But on Saturday (August 10), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the appeal had been submitted after the one-minute deadline. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) then announced that Chiles’ original score of 13.666 would be reinstated, returning the bronze medal to Bărbosu.
The IOC confirmed that the score revision meant Chiles would be stripped of her medal.
“Following the CAS decision regarding the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the revised ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu (Romania),” the IOC stated.
In response, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced on Sunday (August 11) that it is appealing the decision, asserting that critical errors occurred during both the initial scoring by FIG and the subsequent CAS appeal process.
“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were significant flaws in the initial scoring by FIG and the CAS appeal process that must be addressed,” the USOPC said in a statement.
The organization argues that the CAS appeal process did not provide them with adequate time or notice to challenge the decision effectively, leaving them without a proper opportunity to present their case.
“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to ensure Jordan Chiles receives the recognition she deserves. We stand by her as an Olympic champion and will work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly,” the statement continued.
USA Gymnastics has pledged to provide additional video evidence showing that the challenge was made within the required one-minute deadline.
The organization stated that video evidence “conclusively establishes that Head Coach Cecile Landi’s request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the score was published, meeting the FIG rule’s one-minute deadline.” This footage was not available to USA Gymnastics before the tribunal’s decision and was therefore not previously submitted.