USA Gymnastics said the Court of Arbitration for Sport will not reconsider the decision to strip Chiles of her bronze, even after it submitted new evidence.
U.S. gymnastics officials said Monday the Court of Arbitration for Sport will not hear an appeal for U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles to keep her bronze medal in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics, even after USA Gymnastics submitted new evidence.
“USA Gymnastics was notified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday that their rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented,” the organization wrote in a statement posted to social media.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided an on-floor appeal by Chiles’ coach that vaulted her to third, saying the appeal came 4 seconds beyond the 1-minute time limit for scoring inquiries.
USA Gymnastics disputed the timing, saying in a statement Sunday that the agency submitted video evidence to CAS that showed coach Cecile Landi first appealed 13 seconds before the deadline.
“We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan,” USA Gymnastics said.
How did Jordan Chiles initially end up with the bronze?
Chiles qualified third in women’s floor exercise and competed 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 Romania’s Ana 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.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.