US appeals IOC decision to strip Jordan Chiles of bronze medal

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced Sunday that it will appeal a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to strip gymnast Jordan Chiles of a bronze medal after the group ordered a scoring correction.

The IOC ruled Sunday that Chiles must give her medal to Romanian Ana Bărbosu after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided an appeal Saturday that Team USA coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi filed during last week’s competition, The Associated Press (AP) reported. 

The U.S. is now appealing that decision, as announced in a statement just before the closing ceremony of the Paris games.

“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed,” the committee said in a statement.

“The initial error occurred 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,” the statement continued. “As a result, we were not properly represented or afforded the opportunity to present our case comprehensively.”

In its ruling Saturday, the CAS said Landi’s appeal to have 0.1 added to Chiles’s score was outside of the 60-second window granted by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), the AP reported. Landi’s appeal came 64 seconds after Chiles’s initial score was posted, the CAS said.

USA Gymnastics said Sunday that it submitted evidence for the CAS appeal showing that the appeal came 47 seconds after the score was published, not 64 seconds, meaning it should have been upheld.

“The time-stamped, video evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics Sunday evening shows Landi first stated her request to file an inquiry at the inquiry table 47 seconds after the score is posted, followed by a second statement 55 seconds after the score was originally posted,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement.

“The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it,” the group continued.

Chiles initially received a score of 13.666, placing her fifth before her coach called for an inquiry.

The initial finishing order should be resorted, the CAS wrote in its ruling Saturday, with Bărbosu in third, Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea in fourth and Chiles in fifth. The CAS left it up to the FIG to determine the bronze medal winner behind Brazilian gold winner Rebeca Andrade and U.S. silver medalist Simone Biles.

Chiles, a two-time Olympian, posted twice on her Instagram story Saturday, the first showing a black background with four heartbreak emojis, followed by a second post that read, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health. Thank you.” 

Miranda Nazzaro contributed.

Updated at 6:00 pm.