Jordan Chiles found out that she won the first individual Olympic medal of her career, a bronze on floor, after a last-second inquiry with the judges bumped up her final score.
Jordan Chiles and USA Gymnastics missed a one-minute deadline on their inquiry regarding her floor routine earlier this week at the Paris Olympics, which initially led to an unexpected rise in Chiles' score and her winning of the bronze medal in the floor final.
According to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the inquiry was filed four seconds too late.
After competition finished in Monday's women's final, it appeared U.S. star Jordan Chiles would not medal, sitting in fifth place with a score of 13.666. But just as fans expected to see Simone Biles, who scored a silver medal in the event, as the only American on the podium, Chiles was seen jumping in the air.
"I was the first one to see. ... I was like jumping up and down," Chiles, who lost her voice while cheering and screaming, told reporters after the event.
Team USA had submitted an inquiry on Chiles' difficulty score, which was then reviewed by the judges and, in an unexpected move, her score was adjusted. Chiles' score was revised to 13.766, just barely enough to put her at bronze.
That left Sabrina Maneca-Voinea and teammate Ana Barbosu without medals after each finishing with a score of 13.700.
The challenge involved Chiles' Tour Jete Full, one of the elements of her routine, which Team USA felt was not properly scored. Chiles didn't get credit for the move in both qualifications and the team final, they said. The judges agreed and the decision pushed Chiles past Maneca-Voinea and Barbosu and into third.
While Chiles' original score has been reinstated, it is unknown if she will have to forfeit her bronze medal.
USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee issued a joint statement after the decision was announced, saying they are "devastated" by the ruling, though added that the challenge was "filed in good faith."
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The joint statement also touched on online vitriol that Chiles has faced in recent days following the challenge.
"Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment," the statement said in part.
The CAS ruled the timing was in fact after the one-minute deadline and voted to reverse Chiles' score.
"The inquiry submitted on behalf of Ms Jordan Chiles in the Final of the women’s Floor exercise was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline provided by article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations and is determined to be without effect," the ruling states. "The initial score of 13.666 given to Ms Jordan Chiles in the final of the women’s Floor exercise shall be reinstated."
Chiles released a message on social media shortly after the ruling was announced.
In her Instagram story, the Olympic gymnast posted a series of broken heart emojis and said she'd be "removing myself from social media for my mental health."
What did Team Romania say?
In response, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said Tuesday he won't attend the Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony in protest.
"I decided not to attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, following the scandalous situation in the gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonorable manner," Ciolacu wrote on Facebook. "To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal ... is totally unacceptable!"
He said the gymnasts will still be honored as medalists, writing, "You have with you an entire nation for which your work and tears are more precious than any medal, no matter what precious metal they are from."
Romanian gymnastics great Nadia Comaneci also responded, writing with frustration in a post on X, "I can't believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this."
The Romanian appeal was sent Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Romanian Olympic Committee told NBC Chicago's Alex Maragos, reporting on the 2024 Olympics from Paris.
What does this mean for Chiles' medal?
The answer remains unclear.
The ruling states that while the score is reversed, the International Gymnastics Federation will determine the ranking of the final floor exercise as "assign the medals."
According to NBC News, a similar situation decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2022 would suggest that if scores were adjusted in Maneca-Voinea's favor, she may be awarded a bronze medal while Chiles would keep her medal.
