Gymnast Jordan Chiles took to social media on Thursday to publicly share her feelings for the first time since losing her bronze medal from the Paris Olympics in controversial fashion.
“I am overwhelmed by the love I have received over the past few days,” Chiles said to begin her lengthy statement on X, formerly Twitter.
“… While celebrating my Olympic accomplishments, I heard the devastating news that my bronze medal had been stripped away. I had confidence in the appeal brought by USAG, who gave conclusive evidence that my score followed all the rules. This appeal was unsuccessful. I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey.”
Chiles changed gears and turned her attention to the attacks over social media that she said she has received.
“To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country,” she said. “I will never waver from my values of competing with integrity, striving for excellence, upholding the values of sportsmanship and the rules that dictate fairness. I have taken pride in cheering on everyone regardless of team or country. Finding joy again has been a culture shift and I love seeing others embrace it. I feel like I have given everyone permission to be authentic to who they are.”
Chiles won the bronze in women’s floor exercise in Paris on Aug. 5 when her coach submitted an inquiry to challenge the judges’ initial score, and her score was corrected from 13.666 to 13.766. Chiles moved into third place, passing Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.
Romania took its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), saying that the United States’ inquiry was not made within the one-minute window stated in the rules. Romania argued that the Americans missed that time limit by four seconds.
The CAS on Saturday ruled in favor of Romania and ordered Chiles’ bronze medal to be reallocated to Barbosu, who was tied at 13.7 with her countrywoman but had a higher execution score.
USA Gymnastics later said it had video evidence that coach Cecile Landi made the appeal 47 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted, well within the time limit, but the CAS said it would not reopen the case. USAG plans to appeal to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland.
–Field Level Media
