There has been much controversy surrounding U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles being forced to forfeit her bronze medal after a technicality in the rule book, regarding the time allowed to challenge a judge's score, was found days later.
To point out, Chiles originally placed in fifth with a 13.666 score in the women's floor exercise event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yet, the Team USA coaches appealed the score, noting the difficulty of her routine, and the judges ended up concurring. As a result, Chiles' score was updated, which put her into third place (13.766), so she received a bronze medal.
However, over the weekend the Court of Arbitration looked into how much time passed since the U.S. team challenged the judges' ruling, and it was discovered that they were 4 seconds late (60 second rule), so almost a week later it was ruled an "invalid challenge."
This resulted in Romania's Ana Barbosu being the new bronze medal winner, and this undoubtedly did not sit well with Chiles, who released a statement on her social media page.
— Jordan Chiles (@ChilesJordan) August 15, 2024
"I heard the devastating news that my bronze medal had been stripped away... I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow."
"I am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career," Chiles continued. "I will approach this challenge as I have others — and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing."
