Jordan Chiles's Bronze Medal Controversy, Explained

Her individual medal was revoked after a scoring dispute.

While there was no shortage of memorable moments at the 2024 Paris Olympics, one drama, in particular, resists a tidy conclusion. After Jordan Chiles's score was revised in real-time during the women's floor exercise final, it seemed that she had finally clenched her first individual Olympic medal. Since then, a disagreement over who actually won the bronze medal has presumably taken that victory away.

Here's everything we know so far about the drama in the wake of the women's gymnastics floor exercise final, featuring Team USA's Jordan Chiles.

It started with the women's floor exercise final.

Chiles was the last gymnast to compete in the floor exercise final, which meant she knew exactly where everyone else stood: Brazil's Rebeca Andrade was in first place, Chiles's teammate Simone Biles was in second, and Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea were tied for third. To medal, then, Chiles had to beat the third place score: 13.700.

Though Chiles finished her routine to thundering applause, the resulting score was a disappointment: 13.666, a fourth-place finish. But Chiles's coach, Cecile Landi, noticed an error. The judges had miscalculated Chiles's difficulty score. Once the score was amended, the podium had a new bronze medalist: Chiles's new score was 13.766, placing her above both Bǎrbosu and Maneca-Voinea. In a ceremony of historic proportions, three Black women—Andrade, Biles, and Chiles—swept the floor exercise final. Chiles and Biles celebrated by bowing playfully to Andrade, who stood in the center with her hands triumphantly raised.

Romania then challenged Team USA's challenge.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation had no objection to the accuracy of Chiles's difficulty score, however, they did contest that the challenge had been made after the deadline, after which coaches are no longer allowed to dispute scores.

"For the last gymnast or group of a rotation, this limit is one (1) minute after the score is shown on the scoreboard," according to the International Gymnastics Federation regulations. "The person designated to receive the verbal inquiry has to record the time of receiving it, either in writing or electronically, and this starts the procedure. Late verbal inquiries will be rejected."

Romania's argument was simple: Chiles had missed her window of opportunity to dispute her score. But, rather than take away her medal, Romania petitioned that all three gymnasts (that is, Chiles,
Bǎrbosu, and Maneca-Voinea) should each receive a bronze medal. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld Romania's challenge but declined to award all three athletes. Instead, the bronze would go to Bǎrbosu alone.

Chiles was understandably devastated.

In a joint statement from USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee posted on X, the two organizations said they were "devastated" by the decision.

“The inquiry in the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring," they said. "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. 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."

Chiles, for her part, posted broken-heart emojis and announced that she was going offline. “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you,” she said.

Team USA said they had new, time-stamped evidence.

It didn't take long for Team USA to respond with an appeal, citing time-stamped evidence that Coach Landi had, in fact, submitted the challenge within the one-minute time frame.

"USA Gymnastics on Sunday formally submitted a letter and video evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, conclusively establishing that Head Coach Cecile Landi’s request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score," a statement posted on X said. "The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it."

Unfortunately for Chiles, however, the appeal was denied.

"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 scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan," Team USA said in a subsequent statement.

As of now, it is unclear as to whether Chiles has returned the medal. Bǎrbosu, meanwhile, offered her condolences to both Chiles and her Romanian teammate, Maneca-Voinea.

"Sabrina, Jordan, my thoughts are with you," she wrote in a since-disappeared Instagram story. "I know what you are feeling because I've been through the same. But I know you'll come back stronger. I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share [the] same podium. This is my true dream!"

A conflict of interest at the Court of Arbitration for Sports came to light.

After a three-person panel denied Team USA's appeal, new information came to light regarding Dr. Hamid G. Gharavi, who is the head of the panel. According to Good Morning America, Gharavi has actually represented Romania in a number of legal cases, which, at least according to Team USA, represents a serious conflict of interest.

When asked about his position on the panel, Gharavi was unable to offer any insight: "I am not allowed to comment on these or any other matters in relation to my role as an arbitrator in this or any other case."

Chiles released a statement, calling the decision "devastating" and vowing to "ensure that justice is done."

A few days after Team USA's appeal was denied, Chiles took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express her disappointment with the Court of Arbitration for Sports.

"I have no words," she wrote. "This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey."

Chiles also acknowledged the hate she experienced online in the aftermath of the ruling: "To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I've poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country."

"I am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career," she continued. "Believe me when I say I have had many. I will approach this challenge as I have others—and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing."

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