Jordan Chiles Still Holding Olympic Medal Hostage Despite Ruling

It's clear that Jordan Chiles is not going to give up her bronze medal from the 2024 Olympics easily, even though the International Olympic Committee has demanded its return.

For those not familiar with the situation, Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu, who was awarded the third-place finish that was stripped from Chiles due to a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), received a bronze medal on Aug. 16 in a ceremony in Bucharest.

However, it wasn't the same medal that was given to Chiles since it has yet to be returned by the American gymnast, according to Christine Brennan of USA Today.

"American Jordan Chiles is in the United States and still has possession of the bronze medal that was awarded to her in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics, two people with knowledge of the situation who did not want to be identified have told USA TODAY Sports," Brennan reported.

Furthermore, according to Brennan, "there are no plans for Chiles to give the bronze medal back" as USA Gymnastics tries to appeal the CAS ruling.

Jordan Chiles initially finished fifth in the floor exercise final of the 2024 Olympics, but her coach, Cecile Landi, challenged her difficulty score that led to a 0.10 bump for her. From 13.666, her score increased to 13.766.

As a result, Chiles moved up to third, while Barbosu—who was the third-placer at the time with 13.700—dropped to fourth.

The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, however, filed an appeal over the controversial ending. The CAS then found out that Landi's challenge came four seconds after the one-minute deadline, thereby voiding Chiles' additional score.

The court ruled that the initial scores should be restored, with Barbosu third and Chiles fifth. The International Gymnastics Federation followed the ruling, while the IOC—the organization tasked to handle the medal allocations—demanded that Chiles give back her bronze medal.

However, while Barbosu has been awarded her medal, Chiles and USA Gymnastics are not yet done fighting to counter the decision. While CAS has denied their initial appeal, they are now planning to take the issue to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, a court that can take such cases.

Having said that, Chiles will likely keep her medal at least until they have exhausted all their options. Of course, hope remains high that their appeal will be successful and that she will not need to return her bronze hardware.

Related: IOC Justifies Decision To Give Medal To Ana Barbosu Despite Jordan Chiles' Appeal