In the latest chapter in the Jordan Chiles medal controversy, Romanian gymnast Ana Bǎrbosu was officially awarded the bronze medal for the individual floor exercise. Bǎrbosu, whose score surpassed Chiles’ after a successful challenge by the Romanian Olympic Committee, received the medal at a “re-awarding” ceremony in Bucharest, Romania, on Friday.
The ceremony took place a day after the IOC gave the green light for Bǎrbosu to be awarded the medal in place of Chiles. Bǎrbosu, like all Olympic medallists, received a stuffed mascot and a poster in addition to his medal.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision that led to this point was fraught with controversy. It began with a successful challenge by Chiles’ coach, Cécile Landi, who increased Chiles’ score by 0.1 to put her in third place. Bǎrbosu was seen celebrating what she thought was a third-place finish before the amended score was released, and was visibly shocked not to win the bronze medal.
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 says has no basis based on video evidence.
What followed was a series of days of bitter exchanges between CAS and USAG, with both sides sticking to their positions and USAG pledging to continue fighting on Chile’s behalf.
Chiles broke her silence on the matter yesterday, posting a statement on social media in which she called the situation “devastating” and “unfair.” She also addressed the racist attacks she received online in the week and a half since the incident.
USA Today reported As of Thursday, Chiles still has his bronze medal from the United States, making it unclear what the plan is to get it back.
Initially it was the Romanian Gymnastics Federation proposed to award bronze medals Chiles, Bărbosu and their compatriot Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who had initially lost the tie-break to Bărbosu, were however disavowed by the IOC.
Instead, Bǎrbosu received his medal in Bucharest, miles from Paris and 11 days after the event, when more controversy was yet to come.