The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has overturned the decision that awarded American gymnast Jordan Chiles the bronze medal on the floor exercise at the Olympics. This reversal has paved the way for Romania’s Ana Barbosu to take Chiles’ place as the bronze medalist. CAS’s ruling stated that the appeal made by US coach Cecile Landi to increase Chiles’ score by 0.1, which moved her from fifth to third place, was submitted outside the 1-minute time frame permitted by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
According to CAS, the original finishing order should be reinstated, placing Barbosu in third, her teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea in fourth, and Chiles in fifth. The FIG has been instructed by CAS to determine the final ranking based on this decision. In the floor exercise final on Monday, both Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea missed out on medals after scoring the same 13.700 points. Barbosu had initially thought she had secured the bronze through a tiebreaker – a higher execution score – and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.
Chiles, who was the final gymnast to perform, initially received a score of 13.666, which positioned her in fifth place, just behind Maneca-Voinea. Following a request for a review by Landi, judges increased Chiles’ total score by 0.1, allowing her to surpass Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea to claim the last spot on the podium. USA Gymnastics expressed deep disappointment in response to the ruling and clarified that the inquiry into Chiles’ routine’s Difficulty Value was made in good faith and in compliance with FIG regulations to ensure accurate scoring.
