Ruling Reveals Jordan Chiles Might Keep Olympic Medal Amid Controversy

There has been a lot of talk about Jordan Chiles potentially losing her 2024 Olympics bronze medal after the latest ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. However, there's still a chance that she might keep it.

Chiles won the bronze medal in the floor exercise final after scoring 13.766, finishing behind Brazil's Rebeca Andrade (14.166) and her USA teammate Simone Biles (14.133). However, Chiles initially placed fifth with a score of 13.666 before her coach, Cecile Landi, challenged her difficulty score.

After a short inquiry, the judges agreed to increase Chiles' score by an extra 0.1 point. This allowed the 23-year-old to surpass Romania's Ana Barbosu (13.700) and Sabrina Voinea (13.700), who ended up fourth and fifth, respectively,

Unfortunately for Chiles, after the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee made an appeal, it was found that Team USA's inquiry was filed beyond the one-minute deadline (it happened at one minute and four seconds). As a result, Chiles' extra point was voided, causing her to drop in the final standings as her initial score of 13.666 was reinstated.

According to ESPN, the International Gymnastics Federation has already taken action following the court ruling and restored Ana Barbosu to third place in the Paris Olympics. However, it is still unknown if Jordan Chiles will have to return her bronze medal since it is up to the International Olympic Committee to decide on the medal allocation.

However, it is worth noting that in the appeal of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, the organization requested that all three gymnasts (Barbosu, Voinea and Chiles) be awarded third place and a bronze medal each.

"Subsidiarily, the Applicants requested a ruling adjusting the ranking of Ms. Ana Maria Barbosu, Ms. Sabina Maneca-Voinea and Ms. Jordan Chiles by placing all three athletes in 3rd position and the allocation of medals to all three athletes," the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling indicated.

It remains to be seen if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will grant the request of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. If the IOC does, then Chiles would not need to return her medal, and she'd be considered as an Olympic medalist for the event.

For what it's worth, the development has taken a heartbreaking toll on the mental health of all athletes involved. Chiles, for her part, announced she's taking a break from social media amid her mental health struggles caused by the ruling.

Related: Jordan Chiles' Coach Heartbroken For Romanian Gymnast Over Olympic Scandal