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Jordan Chiles: ‘Heart Broken’ Over Medals Issue at Paris Olympics
Jordan Chiles expressed her deep disappointment after being stripped of her Olympic bronze medal due to mistakes made by gymnastics officials. She vowed to continue fighting for her rightful recognition, stating she did nothing wrong.
Speaking at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit, Chiles opened up about the emotional strain she has experienced over the past few weeks. “The biggest thing that was taken from me was,” she paused to collect herself, “it was the recognition of who I was. Not just my sport, but the person I am.”
Chiles emphasized that the issue goes beyond the medal itself. “It’s not about the medal,” she asserted. “It’s about my skin color. It’s about the fact there were things that have led up to this position of being an athlete. I felt like everything has been stripped. It was like I lost my love for the sport again, reminiscent of what I experienced in 2018.”
In the floor exercise final held on August 5, Chiles initially finished in fifth place with a score of 13.666. The scores of Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea of Romania were slightly better, each marked at 13.7, though Barbosu took the higher position due to a better execution score. However, Chiles’ personal coach, Cecile Landi, successfully appealed for a review of her difficulty score, arguing that Chiles had not received full credit for a specific leap known as a tour jete.
The review panel agreed, boosting Chiles’ score enough to place her in third, ahead of the two Romanian gymnasts. However, the situation took a turn when Romania lodged an appeal, questioning the timing of Chiles’ inquiry. On the last day of the Paris Games, six days after the event, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced a reversal of the floor exercise results, citing that Chiles’ scoring appeal had been submitted too late.
As a result, the International Olympic Committee awarded the bronze medal to Romania’s Barbosu. USA Gymnastics later revealed that video evidence found after the ruling indicated that Landi had indeed made the inquiry on time, but the FIG stated that it could not consider this new information post-decision.
Reallocation of medals does happen at times, but it’s rare for it to stem from another party’s mistake. Both USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee have shown their support for Chiles and are planning to appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
The FIG admitted during the CAS hearing that it had lacked a proper system to ensure officials could quickly determine whether verbal appeals were timely. Although the official timing system at the Olympics, Omega, had the necessary data, it wasn’t connected to the FIG’s system or effectively communicated to the appeal panel.
Chiles noted that this experience has not only complicated a significant moment in her career—her first individual medal across two Olympics—but also opened her up to online bullying, much of which has been racially motivated. “It’s definitely been tough to truly embrace all the love and support,” she shared. “Initially, it was hard to accept that because of how badly my heart was broken.”
Despite the difficulties, Chiles expressed gratitude for those who have shown her support through various channels, including social media and personal messages. “I appreciate every single person that has reached out to me,” she said, showing resilience in the face of adversity.
The bronze medal situation was particularly poignant, as it created a historic moment during the Paris Olympics. The floor exercise podium featured three Black gymnasts for the first time, with Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade taking gold and Simone Biles earning silver. As Andrade stepped forward to receive her gold medal, both Chiles and Biles bowed in a powerful display of solidarity.
Chiles concluded, “It’s not over. Because at this rate, it’s not really about the medal. It’s about my peace and my justice.”
Source: USA TODAY
