Jordan Chiles says the decision to strip her of her medal 'feels unjust'

Jordan Chiles broke her silence on the controversial decision to strip her of her bronze medal, posting a statement Thursday saying that the situation “feels unjust.”

“I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow not just to me but to everyone who has championed my journey,” Chiles wrote. “To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful.”

Last week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, or CAS, ruled that Chiles’ coach was four seconds too late to request an inquiry to review her score during the 2024 Paris Olympics floor exercise final. The inquiry was accepted at the time, however, and found Chiles was underscored.

Her fixed score placed her in third, earning her the bronze medal.

But the CAS ruling reinstated that initial score and pushed her down in the standings. The International Olympic Committee announced on Sunday that it was asking for Chiles to return the medal so it could be reallocated to Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu, who retroactively placed third in the event.

USA Gymnastics said it is fighting the ruling and noted several issues it took with the proceedings, which were requested by an appeal from Romanian officials.

It also said it had time-stamped video evidence that Chiles’ coach did submit the inquiry within 47 seconds, which is inside the one-minute deadline. But the court said in a statement that its rules do not allow for a reconsideration of its rulings, even in light of new evidence.

USA Gymnastics said it will continue to fight for Chiles. The organization is looking at all potential appeal options, including the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

Chiles thanked USA Gymnastics for its support as well as the outpouring of love and support in the wake of the news.

“I will approach this challenge as I have others — and I will make every effort to ensure that justice is done,” Chiles wrote. “I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing.”

American officials said its bodies were given notice of the arbitration proceedings too late because CAS notified the wrong American officials, who were not able to properly review the case.

The U.S. Olympic Committee said that the error “deprived us of adequate time to respond meaningfully or gather necessary evidence.” It says it was given notice less than 24 hours before the CAS hearing and had no chance to submit objections, including an objection regarding a conflict of interest with one of the CAS panelists.

Hamid Gharavi was president of the panel that decided the Chiles case, documents show, and he has represented Romania in other cases, according to his company’s online bio. CAS said he submitted the conflict and none of the parties objected.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it would have been impossible to gather proper objections and evidence in such as rushed time frame, accusing the court and the International Gymnastics Federation of a number of errors in the situation.

Chiles is the only gymnast in history to be stripped of an Olympic medal for an administrative error. The 2000 Olympic all-around champion Andreea Răducan of Romania was stripped of her gold medal after testing positive for a banned substance she mistakenly ingested in cold medicine.

At the same Olympics, the Chinese team that won bronze utilized an underage gymnast. They were stripped of their team medal in 2010, after the age falsification came to light, and the medal was reallocated to the U.S. team.

The CAS and the IOC have historically awarded multiple Olympic medals in situations involving extended disputes and errors outside competitors’ control, including a 2022 incident where Switzerland’s Fanny Smith and Germany’s Daniela Maier were both awarded bronze medals in ski cross at the Beijing Winter Games.