PARIS – USA Gymnastics has formally asked the highest court in international sport to revise its ruling from the previous day that opened the possibility of stripping Jordan Chiles of the U.S. team of a bronze medal in floor exercise at the Olympics last week.
USA Gymnastics submitted a letter and video evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Sunday, with the sport’s national governing body saying it “conclusively established” that U.S. head coach Cecile Landi requested an investigation into the Chileans’ original score within the one-minute time limit required by international rules.
The CAS ruled on Saturday that Chiles’ original score in the floor exercise competition should be restored and that the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, the sport’s international governing body, should award medals according to the CAS decision on the score.
Brazilian Rebeca Andrade won the floor title last Monday with 14.166 ahead of Simone Biles of Team USA with 14.133.
When the first final results were posted on the arena’s scoreboard, Romania’s Ana Barbosu was in third place with 13.766 points. American Jordan Chiles, Biles’ training partner who also competes for UCLA, was fifth with 13.666 points.
But when U.S. coaches requested a score review to determine whether Chiles had received full points for all elements of her routine, her score was revised to 13.766, earning her first individual medal in two Olympic Games and marking the first time three black gymnasts have stood on the Olympic medal podium.
However, Romania later filed its own appeal with CAS, claiming that the US appeal was not filed within the one-minute deadline following Chile’s routine request for an investigation.
In a statement on Saturday, the CAS said: “The original score of 13.666 awarded to Ms. Jordan of Chile in the women’s floor exercise final is restored” and that “the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique will determine the ranking of the women’s floor exercise final and award the medal(s) in accordance with the above decision.”
But USA Gymnastics asked CAS to reverse its decision and restore Chile’s score of 13.766, saying it had evidence that Landi requested the investigation “47 seconds after the score was published, within the one-minute time limit required by FIG rule.”
Chiles has been the target of bullying and harassment on the internet since the floor exercise competition.
“We are shocked by the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling on the women’s floor exercise,” USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a joint statement Saturday evening. “The investigation into the difficulty of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise was submitted in good faith and, in our opinion, was consistent with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.”
“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subjected to constant, completely unfounded and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subjected to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who carry them out, support them or instigate them. We commend Jordan for her integrity both on and off the competition field and we continue to stand by her and support her.”
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