Why Did Jordan Chiles Lose a Bronze Medal?

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An inquiry by Chiles’s coach led judges to adjust her score and give her a medal. A court ruled the inquiry came too late. Now, the I.O.C. wants her bronze back.

Simone Biles, Rebeca Andrade and Jordan Chiles, all wearing gymnastics warm-up suits, smile and display their Olympic medals.
Jordan Chiles, right, with her teammate Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade of Brazil after the floor exercise.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Juliet Macur

Aug. 11, 2024Updated 8:32 p.m. ET

After learning that she might lose the bronze medal she won in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics — the only individual medal she won at these Summer Games — the American gymnast Jordan Chiles took to social media on Saturday and posted four broken heart emojis on a black background.

That’s four broken hearts for the four seconds that cost her a bronze medal. Four seconds over which she had no control.

The International Olympic Committee confirmed on Sunday that it would strip Chiles of her bronze medal and give it to Romania’s Ana Barbosu. The decision came after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Saturday that Chiles’s coach had filed a scoring inquiry four seconds too late, according to gymnastics rules.

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee said Sunday that it would appeal the reallocation of Chiles’s medal, and by Sunday afternoon, U.S.A. Gymnastics, the sport’s governing body in America, had begun that fight.

In a statement posted on its social media accounts, U.S.A. Gymnastics said it had filed a letter and video evidence that it said showed “conclusively” that the U.S. coaching staff had requested an inquiry 47 seconds after Chiles’s final score was posted — well within the limit, it argued, that is imposed by the sport’s rules.


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