Jordan Chiles' mom, Gina Chiles , stepped up to defend her daughter amid the backlash caused by Jordan’s bronze medal win in the women’s floor exercise event at the 2024 Olympics .
“The racist disgusting comments are still happening in 2024,” Gina wrote via X on Friday, August 9. “I’m tired of people who say it no longer exists. My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched … and she’s being called disgusting things.”
On Monday, August 5, Jordan, 23, was originally given a score of 13.666. This led to Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade winning the gold medal , Simone Biles receiving the silver medal and Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu coming in third and winning the bronze. However, Jordan’s coaches argued that the tour jete full she completed during her routine wasn’t scored properly. The Olympic judges eventually overturned their initial decision and bumped Jordan’s score up by one tenth of a point, which put her in third place, above Ana , 18.
After the women’s floor event concluded, Ana had already begun to celebrate with her team for what she thought was her bronze medal win when the decision was announced. As Jordan jumped up and down with excitement, fans saw Ana leaving the floor in tears.
Why Was Jordan Chiles' Floor Exercise Score Changed at 2024 Olympics? Despite losing out on a bronze medal, Ana took to Instagram and held her head high amid the decision.
“A dream come true,” Ana wrote alongside a carousel of photos of herself at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “Competing with the most amazing teammates, and placing 7th at the Olympics is a huge accomplishment! Being in two individual finals was more than I dreamed of. Going from 8th to 4th in the floor final was exciting! None of this would’ve been possible without the people who were unconditionally supporting me. A big thank you to all of them!”
Jordan herself has been dealing with negativity from several people online since the decision to increase her score was announced.
“Happy with 3rd place? Was not yours, it will never be. Robbery,” wrote one Instagram user in the comments of a photo she shared on Sunday, August 4.
Another person added, “How did you go from 5th place all the way up to 3rd? talking about rigged games.”
Several social media users sarcastically “congratulated” the Oregon native on “stealing” the bronze medal from Ana.
On Saturday, August 10, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that Jordan’s coaches put in the request for review after the one-minute window elapsed. This technically nullified the request and would revoke the increase in Jordan’s score and move her back down to her original fifth place position behind Ana.
The U.S. Olympic team slammed the decision in a statement released on Saturday, August 10.
“We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women's floor exercise. The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles' floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the statement posted to X read. “Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”
Shortly after the U.S. Olympic team released their statement, Jordan announced she was taking a break from social media via her Instagram Story. In one slide, the gymnast simply posted three broken heart emojis.
"I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you," Jordan wrote in the next slide.
Team USA’s Olympics Looks: All About the Leotards Worn by the Gymnasts However, even though the Court of Arbitration for Sport has the ability to change athletes’ scores, they are not allowed to revoke the medals handed out by the Olympics. The International Federation of Gymnastics will decide if Jordan will be stripped of her bronze medal. Their decision had not been announced at the time of publication.
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