USA Gymnastics said Monday that its appeal to restore gymnast Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal in the floor exercise has been turned down.
The federation said in a statement to social media that it was informed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that rules “do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented.”
“We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just score, placement and medal award for Jordan,” USA Gymnastics said.
The news comes a little more than a week after the actual floor exercise competition itself, where a late inquiry by Chiles’ coaches first triggered the saga that has played out in the days since.
How the Jordan Chiles controversy began
In the last routine of the floor exercise final, Chiles garnered a score of 13.666, which included a deduction of one tenth of a point for an improper split leap, known as a tour jete full. That score put her fifth, behind both Ana Barbosu and another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. They both had scores of 13.700.
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But then, in a move she later acknowledged was a bit of a Hail Mary, Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, formally appealed that specific deduction – and the judges agreed. Chiles’ score was thereby increased to 13.766, which moved her into third place ahead of the two Romanians, one of whom had already climbed onto the podium with a flag to celebrate.
The Romanian Gymnastics Federation felt the last-minute reversal was unfair, so they took the matter to CAS, claiming that Landi had submitted the scoring appeal – officially known as an inquiry – four seconds past the allotted one minute in which she was permitted to do so. The Romanian federation did not specify how it knew that Landi was four seconds late and it has not replied to a request for comment. (It also filed a separate appeal on behalf of Maneca-Voinea, saying she shouldn’t have been penalized for stepping out of bounds.)
