PARIS (AP) — Romania’s Ana Barbosu could replace American Jordan Chiles as the Olympic bronze medalist in gymnastics floor exercise after the International Gymnastics Federation restored Barbosu to third.
The FIG made the decision after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided an appeal from Chiles’ coach during Monday’s competition that vaulted her over Barbosu and onto the podium.
Here’s a look at how Chiles, Barbosu and Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea winded up in a scoring controversy that has been painful for all three.
How did Jordan Chiles end up with the bronze medal?
Chiles qualified third in women’s floor exercise and ended up competing last in the eight-woman final, where the order was determined randomly in advance.
The 23-year-old finished her routine and was awarded a 13.666, which was fifth just behind Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea at 13.700.
Cecile Landi, who is Chiles’ personal coach and also served as coach for Team USA in Paris, appealed to the judges to have an element restored to Chiles’ routine. Judges approved the appeal, boosting Chiles’ score by .1, good enough for Chiles to earn her third career Olympic medal to go with the team silver she won in Tokyo in 2021 and the team gold she helped the U.S. capture in Paris.
How did Romania appeal Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal?
The Romanian Gymnastics Federation asked CAS to review the procedure surrounding Landi’s appeal of Chiles’ score.
International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) guidelines require coaches to make any appeal of a score within one minute of the score being posted.
CAS ruled that Landi officially made her appeal in 1 minute, 4 seconds, just past the deadline.
The appeal on Chiles was granted, with CAS ruling that Chiles’ score should be dropped back down to 13.666 and that the initial order of finish should be restored.
So will Ana Barbosu get the bronze medal?
Good question. The decision seems to ultimately up to the FIG.
CAS wrote in its ruling that the FIG shall determine the final ranking, but added that FIG should assign the medal “in accordance with” the CAS decision. The FIG placed Barbosu third, Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth.
The governing body complied with CAS’ recommendation but stopped short in its statement of saying Chiles would have to give up the medal.
FIG spokesperson Meike Behrensen wrote in an email to The Associated Press that “reallocation of medals is the responsibility of the IOC.”
The IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At the Olympics, the governing body of each sport manages the competition and decides the results. The IOC typically accepts that result — once appeals to CAS are completed — and formally awards the medals.
Barbosu getting a bronze medal seems likely. But that doesn’t mean the FIG or IOC will necessarily ask Chiles — who is back in the U.S. already — to return her medal.
What happened with Sabrina Maneca-Voinea?
While Barbosu was relatively quiet in the aftermath, Maneca-Voinea was not.
She used her social media accounts to highlight what she believed was incorrect scoring during her routine. The judging panel dinged her 0.1 point for stepping out of bounds while spinning around to start a tumbling pass.
Video evidence seemed to indicate that Maneca-Voinea’s heel did not actually step on the boundary. The Romanian federation asked CAS to restore 0.1 to Maneca-Voinea’s score for a penalty that was given to her “without basis.”
The request was denied in part because Maneca-Voinea’s coach did not appeal the score in real-time during the meet.
What do the gymnasts think of this?
Chiles, who left Paris earlier this week to return home to the U.S., went dark on social media shortly before the CAS decision became public.
The two-time Olympian had been subject to attacks on her various social media platforms in recent days, with some critics suggesting she give the medal back.
Chiles posted on X not long after the final that “it’s funny how some people can still never be happy for someone.”
Maneca-Voinea put together an aggressive campaign on social media, asking for justice.
Barbosu asked for calm earlier in the week, blaming the judging panel and not the gymnasts.
The Paris Olympics served as a comeback of sorts for one of the sport’s former superpowers. The Romanian program medaled in the team final in 10 straight Olympics between 1976-2012 before falling on hard times over the last decade. When Barbosu and her teammates walked onto the floor for qualifying on July 28, it marked her country’s first appearance under the rings in 12 years.
“We as athletes don’t deserve something like that, we only want to perform as best as we can and to be rewarded based on our performance,” Barbosu said after returning to Romania. “The problems lie with the judges, with their calculations and decisions.”
American star and two-time Olympic champion Simone Biles encouraged Chiles — a longtime friend — to “keep her chin up.” U.S. standout and six-time Olympic medalist Sunisa Lee chimed in late Saturday, putting the onus on the judges and calling the outcome “unacceptable.”
