Aly Raisman requested an inquiry at the 2012 Olympics. She says Jordan Chiles' case is 'unacceptable'

Former Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman reacted to the controversy surrounding Jordan Chiles' bronze medal win in the women's floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, calling it "completely devastating."

On Aug. 11, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that it would reallocate Chiles’ bronze medal she won at the women's floor exercise event to Romania’s Ana Bărbosu, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) recommended Chiles’ original floor routine score be reinstated.

Raisman, who won the bronze medal on the balance beam at the 2012 London Olympics after her coach submitted an inquiry into her score, boosting her from fourth to third place, can seemingly relate to Chiles. But while on TODAY Aug. 16, the 30-year-old said that her experience was "nothing like what Jordan's going through."

“My inquiry was accepted and I was able to keep my medal, so to be honest, what Jordan’s going through is just so different from what I’ve experienced and it’s unacceptable," she said.

On Aug. 15, Chiles' posted an in-depth statement about her reaction to the bronze medal being reallocated after she podiumed at the Olympics, calling the news "devastating" and a "significant blow."

A few days earlier, Raisman appeared on TODAY to discuss her shock around the initial news that Chiles' would have to return her bronze medal.

“This is just so heartbreaking, and I’m just so gutted for Jordan,” Raisman said on Aug. 12. “I can’t even imagine what this past week has been like for Jordan and the other athletes involved. This is completely devastating.”

“I don’t think people realize these gymnasts work their entire lives for this moment, and it’s supposed to be a celebration,” Raisman continued. “This was one of my favorite moments at the Olympics, watching Jordan celebrate. I think it’s so unfair. It’s so cruel.”

Raisman said that she doesn't think Chiles "should have to give her medal back" and that the right move would be for the IOC to give "more than one medal" out. She then added that she "can't even believe that we're in this position."

“As an athlete, we trust the process. We trust that the rules are in place, that there’s been a lot of thought behind it, and that the rules are there to be fair,” she said. “Going forward, we need to understand how this is happening and how to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

“It’s appalling, but I think that the organizations that are in charge of this need to really look at the athletes’ mental health and how much this is affecting them, and how cruel it is to take a medal away from someone,” she continued. “It’s just, like, unfathomable to me.”

Chiles initially received a score of 13.666 for her floor routine at the Olympic final, which put her in fifth place. Team USA then submitted an inquiry into Chiles’ score because it thought the judges didn’t give her credit for a skill.

The judges reviewed Chiles’ routine and updated her score to 13.766, which was enough to boost her into third place — earning her the bronze medal.

The CAS ruled that Chiles' coach submitted the inquiry four seconds past the one-minute deadline, voiding the inquiry that ultimately led Chiles to win the bronze medal for her floor routine.

USA Gymnastics said it would appeal the court's ruling, writing in an Aug. 11 statement that officials submitted a letter and video evidence that had not been previously available that it said showed Chiles' coach requested to file an inquiry 47 seconds after the score was published.

“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed,” the statement said.

On Aug. 12, the USA Gymnastics expressed disappointment in a statement shared on X as they disclosed learnings that the CAS rules “do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence.”

Raisman said on TODAY earlier Aug. 12 that while she understands the judges "are human," these mistakes have impacted the biggest moment of these athletes' lives

“The judges did make a mistake. (USA Gymnastics) put the inquiry in. The judges accepted it, which means that they felt that it was under that minute. This is just — it’s just so — it’s unfair,” she added.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com