PARIS — U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles must return her bronze medal in the floor exercise, the International Olympic Committee said Sunday, upholding findings that a coach’s appeal that got her on the podium shouldn’t have been allowed.
Chiles, 23, had initially finished fifth in the competition on Monday before U.S. coach Cecile Landi successfully lobbied that her athlete’s difficulty score had been undercredited.
Officials on the scene agreed and adjusted Chiles’ score by 0.1 points to 13.766, which boosted her above two Romanian athletes, triggering an angry reaction from that delegation.
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Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he’d refuse to attend the Olympic closing ceremony in protest.
The IOC on Sunday said it would abide by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that Landi’s protest was made 64 seconds after scores were posted. The deadline for such action is one minute.
Romanian Ana Bărbosu, 18, will now be the floor exercise bronze medalist.
“Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in a statement on Sunday. “We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee pushed back a few hours later and said it would be filing an appeal of its own.
“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,” it said in a statement.
“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves,” the U.S. committee said. “We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.”
It wasn’t immediately clear if or how Chiles would physically return the medal.
She has already left France and appeared on NBC’s “TODAY” show on Thursday in New York City.
Chiles still has a gold from the women’s team all-around. She won silver in Tokyo, also in the team all-around.
“We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement Saturday night. “The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.”
The sport’s U.S. governing body also said the athlete has been “subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media” since the matter came to light.
“No athlete should be subject to such treatment,” they said in the statement. “We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”
Chiles posted four broken-heart emoji on her Instagram on Saturday and said she’d be off from social media to processes this stunning turn of events.
“I am taking the time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you,” she wrote.
