Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles lost her third-place score for floor exercise on Saturday after the Court of Arbitration for Sport found that her score was incorrectly adjusted, moving Chiles to fourth place and reinstating Romania’s Sabrina Maneca-Voinea in third place.
UPDATE: The International Olympic Committee announced its decision on Chiles' medal. Read more here.
Will Jordan Chiles keep her bronze medal after a court ruling saw her gymnastics floor score reversed over a timing debate?
The answer is unclear as of Saturday.
According to a ruling from the International Gymnastics Federation and Tribunal Arbitral du Sport, or Court of Arbitration for Sport, only Chiles' score will revert back its original standing.
The final ranking for the event, however, will sit in the hands of the International Gymnastics Federation, which will "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 Romania's Sabrina Maneca-Voinea's favor, she may be awarded a bronze medal while Chiles would also keep her medal.
The International Gymnastics Federation has not yet addressed the ruling and what it would mean for Chiles, however.
Here's a look at what we know so far:
What happened with Chiles' score?
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.
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"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 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.
But the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee appealed the judge's decision, arguing the U.S.' controversial inquiry was filed after the one-minute deadline.
On Saturday, The International Gymnastics Federation and Tribunal Arbitral du Sport, or Court of Arbitration for Sport, agreed 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."
The CAS confirmed the inquiry was filed four seconds after the one-minute deadline.
How did Chiles, USA Gymnastics respond?
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."
USA Gymnastics, in a joint statement with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, said Chiles had been subject to "consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media" since winning her medal.
"No athlete should be subject to such treatment," the statement read, in part. "We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her."
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.
