Jordan Chiles granted appeal in Olympic medal case
American gymnast Jordan Chiles was granted an appeal Thursday in her legal fight to keep her bronze medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled that Chiles' case will go back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for reconsideration, according to a news release from the Swiss high court and a statement shared on social media by USA Gymnastics.
USA Gymnastics pledged its continued support of Chiles and said, "We look forward to a fair arbitration that includes the clear evidence proving the inquiry into Jordan's score was filed well within 1 minute as required by FIG [the global governing body of gymnastics] rules."
Chiles' bronze medal in the women's gymnastics floor exercise final from the 2024 Paris Olympics was revoked in August 2024.
At first, Chiles finished fifth in the competition, but after her coach appealed the scoring of one of the elements in her routine, she had a new score of 13.766 and moved up to the bronze medal position.
However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided the appeal of Chile's coach and said Chiles' score was "raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline" and reinstated Chiles' previous 13.666 score.
Romanian gymnast Ana Maria Bărbosu, who scored a 13.700, was later awarded the bronze medal by the International Gymnastics Federation.
Following the ruling, a new audio-visual recording emerged showing Chles' coach filing an inquiry on her incorrect score 47 seconds after it was posted. The new evidence challenged the court's claim that the coach didn't submit their appeal within the required time frame, but the court refused to hear an appeal at the time.
Chiles spoke out against the court's decision in September 2024, saying in part, "The biggest thing that was taken from me was that it was the recognition of who I was."
She also defended her performance and her coach's actions.
"I made history and I will always continue to make history, and something that I rightfully did, I followed the rules. My coach followed the rules. We did everything that was totally, completely right," Chiles added.
In addition to appeals for the audio-visual recording to be assessed, Chiles also filed an appeal calling into question the independence and impartiality of one of the Court of Arbitration for Sports arbitrators who ruled against her, pointing out that they represented Romania and Romanian interests in previous years. This appeal has since been rejected by the court.
If the court rules in her favor in the latest appeal, Chiles would earn a second medal from the Paris Olympics. She already has a gold medal in the women's artistic team all-around event.
