Following the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the removal of US gymnast Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal.
However, the situation may be changing.
USA Gymnastics recently presented video evidence to CAS, claiming that the appeal to raise Chiles’ score from 13.666 to 13.766 was submitted within the required one-minute timeframe, despite an earlier ruling stating it was four seconds late.
In a statement on X, USA Gymnastics stated:
“On Sunday, USA Gymnastics formally submitted a letter and video evidence to CAS, demonstrating that Head Coach Cecile Landi’s inquiry request was made 47 seconds after the score announcement, fitting within FIG guidelines.”
“In this correspondence, USA Gymnastics is seeking a revision of the CAS decision to reinstate Chiles’ score of 13.766, which earned her the bronze medal.”
The submitted video shows Landi initiating the inquiry 47 seconds post-score publication and reiterating 55 seconds later. This footage wasn’t available to USA Gymnastics at the time of the original tribunal decision, preventing earlier submission.
As of now, CAS and IOC have yet to respond to this appeal from USA Gymnastics.
Chiles originally claimed third place after Landi challenged the difficulty score of her Floor Exercise routine. However, following an appeal from the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, the CAS reverted her score due to the supposed late submission, allowing Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu to take back the bronze.
The CAS noted, “The inquiry for Ms. Jordan Chiles’ Floor exercise score came after the one-minute timeframe specified in article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations and is thus rendered ineffective.”
According to the International Gymnastics Federation, a coach can challenge a score until the next gymnast begins, unless they are the last performer, which in this case, Chiles was, causing the ongoing dispute.
This ordeal has been tough for Chiles, who has taken a break from social media due to emotional stress and “baseless and extremely hurtful attacks,” as mentioned by USA Gymnastics. We can only hope for a swift resolution.
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