Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu poses with the bronze medal for her individual floor performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, after receiving it during a ceremony at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee on Friday in Bucharest, Romania. American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that dropped her out of the bronze medal position in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics ‘unjust’ and a ‘significant blow’ in a message posted on social media Thursday. Vadim Ghirda | AP photo BUCHAREST, Romania — Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu received her Olympic bronze medal during a ceremony in the capital Bucharest on Friday that marked the conclusion of a swirl of controversy after the medal was first awarded to U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles but later revoked.
“I did not expect the medal to be so heavy, but I would wear it day and night if this is what it takes to have it,” Barbosu said after the ceremony.
The medal was reallocated to Barbosu after a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week that voided an appeal by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the Aug. 5 floor exercise final in Paris, which had vaulted Chiles into third place and pushed Barbosu down to fourth.
Chiles was initially awarded the bronze following the appeal and participated in the medal ceremony following the competition.
That decision caused an uproar in Romania, historically a gymnastics powerhouse, and led its gymnastics federation to request a review of the U.S. team’s appeal procedure. CAS ultimately ruled in favor of Barbosu, saying the U.S. team had made its appeal four seconds beyond the one-minute deadline.
Speaking to reporters on Friday after receiving her medal, Barbosu said the resolution of the controversy “was possible with the help of the federation and the law firm who did not give up on us athletes and fought for us.”
“I am very happy to have this medal and hope to represent Romania at the highest level and bring home more medals,” she said.
Romania was a longtime superpower in gymnastics, but has failed to excel in recent years. Barbosu’s result brings home Romania’s first women’s Olympic medal in gymnastics since the 2012 London Games. USA Gymnastics has said it will continue efforts to let Chiles keep her medal.
Inquiries are a standard part of gymnastics competitions, with athletes or coaches asking judges to review a routine to ensure elements are rated properly. Scores can be adjusted up or down based on an inquiry.
But the affair at the Paris games has been painful for all the athletes involved, exacerbated by streams of online abuse directed at the gymnasts.
“I have no words,” Chiles wrote in an Instagram post. “This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey. To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country.”
USA Gymnastics has said it will continue efforts to let Chiles keep the medal. The sport’s governing body in the United States disputes Romania’s claim that Landi’s appeal came 4 seconds too late, saying Sunday it submitted video evidence to CAS that showed Landi first appealed 13 seconds before the deadline.
CAS released a detailed account of how it reached its decision on Wednesday, noting that USA Gymnastics did not voice any concern about the timekeeping system during the hearing — which USA Gymnastics was given less than 24 hours to prepare for due to clerical errors by CAS that sent notifications to the wrong email address — and that Landi noted her request for an inquiry was granted “immediately.”
The 23-year-old Chiles — who will return to competition in January when she starts her junior year at UCLA — has also been the subject of social media attacks, some of them racially charged, that she’s called “wrong and extremely hurtful.”
“I am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career,” Chiles posted. “Believe me when I say I have had many. I will approach the challenge as I have others — and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing.”
Barbosu on Friday said the medal controversy was “saddening,” and that “we expected the referees and staff at the Olympics to do their job properly.”
Still, she said, she was sending the U.S. gymnasts “good thoughts.”
“I am thinking of them even if today I got the medal,” she said.
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