The International Olympic Committee and a court of appeals have ruled in Romania’s favor, but the battle for Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal isn’t over.
Amid USA Gymnastics vows to take the fight the to the highest court in Switzerland, Romania announced Tuesday that it’s moving forward with a medal ceremony for gymnast Ana Bărbosu. This is all in the wake of the IOC appearing to reject a Romanian proposal that all three athletes involved in the dispute be awarded bronze medals.
Here’s the latest and the need-to-know in the ongoing gymnastics bronze-medal saga from the Paris Olympics.
Romania says it’s moving forward with medal ceremony
The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee says that the disputed bronze medal awarded to Chiles in Paris will be presented to Bărbosu in a ceremony in Bucharest on Friday.
The ROSC made the announcement in a statement released Tuesday. The IOC previously stated that the medal would be awarded to Bărbosu in a “reallocation ceremony.” Neither the IOC nor the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) have addressed or verified Tuesday’s claim by the ROSC.
“Gymnast Ana Maria Barbosu will take possession of the Olympic bronze medal won in the floor final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” the ROSC’s statement reads.
“The medal will be handed to him by Octavian Morariu, member of the International Olympic Committee for Romania, and by Mihai Covaliu, president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, during an event that will take place on the esplanade of the Olympic House in Bucharest, Friday August 16, starting from 09.30.”
What’s happening with Chiles’ medal?
If the Romanian ceremony is indeed going forward, it doesn’t appear that it will do so with the medal that was awarded to Chiles.
There’s no indication from USA Gymnastics that it has returned the medal or intends to do so. On Monday, USAG vowed to keep fighting to retain the medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected its appeal that the medal was rightfully awarded to Chiles in the first place. USAG promised to take the fight to Switzerland’s Supreme Court.
“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,” USAG’s statement reads.
How we got here
Chiles initially finished fifth in the floor routine final in the last rotation of the gymnastics competition at the Paris Olympics behind Bărbosu and her Romanian teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who initially finished the event in a third-place tie with scores of 13.700. Bărbosu was initially declared the bronze-medal winner via a tiebreaker over Maneca-Voinea.
Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi filed an appeal of the scoring of her routine upon its conclusion, and judges determined that Chiles wasn’t awarded full credit for a skill upon review. Her score was adjusted from 13.666 to 13.766, moving her past the Romanian gymnasts into bronze-medal position.
Chiles’ score adjustment overturned on technicality
The ROSC appealed this decision, and the CAS granted the appeal. CAS didn’t determine that Chiles’ score adjustment was done so in error, but that Landi filed her appeal of Chiles’ score four seconds past a one-minute deadline to do so at the conclusion of Chiles’ routine. Chiles’ was reverted to 13.666.
USAG, meanwhile, appealed the CAS decision, citing video evidence that it states shows that Landi filed her appeal within the allotted time. Whatever evidence USAG presented didn’t compel the CAS to change its decision.
The IOC responded to the CAS decision with a statement of its own on Sunday that the medal would be awarded to Bărbosu via a “reallocation ceremony.”
“The IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu (Romania),” the IOC statement reads. “We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
The IOC has not verified that the ceremony the ROSC announced Tuesday is that “reallocation ceremony.”
Should Maneca-Voinea actually get the medal?
In a separate appeal to Chiles being awarded bronze, the ROSC argued that Maneca-Voinea was penalized 0.1 points for stepping out of bounds on her routine when she didn’t step out. Video shows that she did not.
An additional 0.1 points would elevate Maneca-Voinea’s score to 14.8000 past Bărbosu’s score and Chiles’ adjusted score into bronze-medal position. The CAS dismissed the appeal of Maneca-Voinea’s score without explanation, and the ROSC has move forward with a focus on reallocating the medal to Bărbosu.
The Romanian Gymnastics Federation has proposed that that three bronze medals be awarded, with Chiles allowed to keep hers. This does not appear to be an option in the eyes of the IOC.