American gymnast Jordan Chiles has to return bronze medal she won in the Paris Olympics floor exercise after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided an on-floor appeal by her coach that awarded her third place, the International Olympic Committee announced Sunday.
The committee announced the medal will be reallocated to Romanian Ana Barbosu after the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Saturday night it would respect the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to third place.
The decision came less than 24 hours after CAS voided a scoring appeal made by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the competition that placed Chiles on the podium.
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it will appeal the decision.
“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 US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement.
CAS ruled Saturday that Landi’s appeal to have 0.1 added to Chiles’ score came outside the one-minute window allowed by the FIG. The ad hoc committee wrote that Landi’s inquiry came a minute and four seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted.
The IOC said in a statement it will be in touch regarding the return of Chiles’ bronze and will work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss a reallocation ceremony honoring Barbosu.
With News Wire Service
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