Olympics Legend Nadia Comaneci Has Firm Stance on How To Solve Jordan Chiles Medal Controversy

So much has been said about the full-blown controversy that has mired the gymnastics competition in the 2024 Paris Olympics. As of the moment, Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu is officially recognized as the rightful winner of the bronze medal from the individual floor exercise final after American Jordan Chiles was stripped of the medal.

An initially successful appeal from Chiles' camp that saw her jump to third place was eventually reversed, which led to Barbosu being restored to the third spot. Incidentally, another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Voinea, finished with the same final score as Barbosu (13.700), but it was the latter who finished third due to a tie-breaker (higher execution score).

It is worth noting, however, that Voinea's camp has also filed for an appeal after the 17-year-old was penalized for supposedly stepping out of the mat during her routine. Based on their video evidence, Voinea did not commit the said violation, which is why her camp is contesting the decision.

Should this be reversed, Voinea's point deduction would be reinstated, thereby propping her up to third with a final score of 13.800. In this scenario, the bronze medal should be awarded to her.

Olympics icon Nadia Comaneci, who herself is a nine-time Olympic medalist for Romania, has been very vocal throughout this controversy. For her part, the 62-year-old has been critical of how this whole scandal has affected the mental health of all three girls involved.

On Thursday, Comaneci took to Instagram to reiterate her stance on how all three athletes should be awarded a bronze medal.

Comaneci shared a strong statement from Belarusian multi-Olympic medalist Svetlana Boginskaya, who argued that Chiles, Barbosu and Voinea should all be given a bronze medal.

"Jordan should keep her medal that she got awarded officially," Boginskaya stated. "Ana should keep her medal that was awarded to her in Romania and Sabrina should receive her medal for judging error."

This is not the first time Comaneci has campaigned for this proposal, and it appears that she will keep banging on the same drum until a proper resolution is reached.

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