The US is appealing a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to strip Jordan Chiles of the bronze medal in the gymnastics floor exercise final, CNN reports.
Chiles was initially given a score of 13.666 on the floor final last week, falling short of Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu's bronze score of 13.700.
However, Chiles' coaches successfully challenged her difficulty score, which added 0.1 to her total and earned her the bronze medal.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later ruled on Saturday (August 10) that the challenge made over Chiles' score was submitted after the one-minute deadline. The Internal Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said the ruling would reinstate Chiles' original score of 13.666, improving Bărbosu’s back to bronze.
IOC confirmed that the score change meant Chiles would be stripped of the bronze medal.
“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 Barbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in the statement.
“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 US Olympic Committee announced Sunday (August 11) that it would be appealing 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 organization said in a statement.
“The initial error occurred in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision. As a result, we were not properly represented or afforded the opportunity to present our case comprehensively.
“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves. We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.”
USA Gymnastics said it would be providing additional video evidence that the challenge was made within the one-minute deadline requirement.
Video evidence “conclusively establishing that Head Coach Cecile Landi’s request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, within the 1-minute deadline required by FIG rule," the organization said.
“The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it.”
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