Jordan Chiles controversy: Sports authority denies bias in bronze medal ruling

As the drama surrounding Jordan Chiles continues to tumble onward, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has denied “outrageous” reports of bias in its decision to strip the American gymnast of her Paris Olympics bronze medal.

During the Aug. 5 Olympic gymnastics competition, Chiles was awarded third place in floor exercise after USA Gymnastics coach Cecile Landi requested a score review, bringing Chiles’ 13.666 rating to a 13.766. The 0.1 difficulty increase pushed Chiles ahead of Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu, who was knocked off the podium and into fourth place.

The Romanian Olympic Committee later appealed the scoring change.

On Sunday, six days after Landi requested the on-floor review, CAS said Bărbosu was the rightful winner of the bronze medal — a decision heavily criticized by USA Gymnastics.

Currently, Bărbosu is the third-place winner in women’s floor exercise, followed by Romanian gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who also earned a 13.700 score, then Chiles in fifth place. (Bărbosu placed ahead of Maneca-Voinea because of a higher execution score.)

In the days after the decision to bump Chiles’ score down again, reports emerged in several American news outlets claiming the chairman of CAS has represented Romania in numerous arbitration cases over the past few years.

A statement released by CAS on Wednesday condemned the “outrageous statements” to do with chairman Hamid G. Gharavi’s alleged connection to the Romanian government.

“As none of the parties involved in this case has challenged any Panel member during the procedure, it can reasonably be assumed that all parties were satisfied to have their case heard by this Panel,” the statement reads. “Any subsequent criticism is without foundation or merit.”

USA Gymnastics told CNN it was unaware of Gharavi’s connection to Romania.

“CAS did not send the conflict-of-interest disclosures of any panelist to USA Gymnastics, nor have we seen the disclosures to date,” the organization alleged.

The decision to strip Chiles of her bronze came after a Romanian appeal insisted coach Landi’s review request came four seconds after the sport’s one-minute window had elapsed. The claim was disputed by USA Gymnastics, which said it had new video evidence of Landi making the appeal within 47 seconds of Chiles’ score being posted.

On Monday, CAS denied the USA Gymnastics appeal. The gymnastics organization said it was notified by CAS that its “rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented.”

USA Gymnastics has vowed to challenge the case through “every possible avenue,” including the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

USA Gymnastics has said it did not become aware of the Romanian case to appeal until Aug. 9, which was “two days past the deadline to submit objections related to panellists, and less than 24 hours before the hearing.”

A statement from the organization accused CAS of sending case filings about the appeal to “incorrect email addresses.”

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) made similar accusations, alleging CAS “sent crucial communications to erroneous email addresses.”

USOPC said it was for this reason deprived of “adequate time to respond meaningfully or gather necessary evidence.”

In a statement from Chiles, shared on Thursday afternoon, the gymnast said she is “overwhelmed by the love” she’s received since being stripped of the bronze medal.

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

Chiles said she’s been the victim of “racially driven attacks on social media.”

“I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country,” she continued. “I will never waver from my values of competing with integrity, striving for excellence, upholding the values of sportsmanship and the rules that dictate fairness.”

Chiles called the loss of her bronze hardware “one of the most challenging moments of my career” and promised to “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,” she concluded.

Dispute over Chiles’ floor score is likely to lead to a legal battle that could take months, or years, to conclude.

The International Gymnastics Federation has said it will uphold the CAS decision to keep Bărbosu in third place.

At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade earned gold for women’s floor exercise while fan favourite Simone Biles took silver.