In the latest chapter in the Jordan Chiles medal controversy, Romanian gymnast Ana Bǎrbosu has officially received the bronze medal for the individual floor exercise. Bǎrbosu, whose score moved ahead of Chiles’ after a successful challenge from the Romanian Olympic Committee, received the medal in a “reallocation” ceremony in Bucharest, Romania on Friday.
The ceremony came a day after the IOC gave the go-ahead for Bǎrbosu to receive the medal instead of Chiles. Bǎrbosu, like all Olympic medalists, received a stuffed mascot and a poster in addition to her medal.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling that lead to this point has been full of controversy. It started with a successful challenge from Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi that raised Chiles’ score by 0.1 to put her into third place. Bǎrbosu was seen celebrating what she thought was a third-place finish before the amended score came through, and was visibly shocked when she did not end up taking the bronze.
The Romanian Olympic Committee then challenged the results, with CAS granting the appeal and stripping Chiles of the medal on a technicality — which USA Gymnastics has said has no grounds based on video evidence.
What has followed is days of bitter exchanges between CAS and USAG, with both sides digging in their heels and with USAG vowing to continue fighting on Chiles’ behalf.
Chiles broke her silence on the issue yesterday, releasing a statement on social media where she called the situation “devastating” and “unjust.” She also addressed the racially targeted attacks she has received online in the week and a half since the event.
USA Today reported Thursday that Chiles still has her bronze medal in the United States, making it unclear what the plan is for making her return it.
Initially, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation proposed awarding bronze medals to Chiles, Bărbosu and fellow Romanian gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who initially lost a tiebreaker to Bărbosu. However, the IOC did not approve that solution.
Instead, Bǎrbosu received her medal in Bucharest, miles away from Paris and 11 days after the event, with more dispute still to come.
Source Agencies
