No Olympic athlete should be subjected to the emotional roller coaster Jordan Chiles has been on the last few days as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) considered an appeal of Monday’s floor exercise final and landed on a ruling Sunday that would strip Chiles of her bronze medal.
The court voided the on-floor appeal by Team USA that moved Chiles from fifth to third place and knocked Romania’s Ana Barbosu off the podium, saying it came four seconds after the time allowed for scoring inquiries.
That decision led the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reallocate the bronze from Chiles to Barbosu, making a bad situation worse by dragging a second gymnasts through the avoidable experience of tasting Olympic success only to be told it was just a fever dream. That medal you won… that unforgettable moment on the podium… it never happened.
But alas, the court has a chance to make it right.
Breaking: USOPC to appeal CAS ruling on Jordan Chiles. pic.twitter.com/CQANoZdNd1
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) August 11, 2024
In a statement to USA TODAY Sports’ Christine Brennan, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said it will issue its own appeal of the ruling, citing errors in the initial scoring and the appeal process.
The best outcome is one that doesn’t penalize the athletes for the mistakes of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and IOC.
I’m not one for handing out participation trophies for the sake of making everyone happy, but because the judges couldn’t get it right in real time, the only way this can end is with Chiles and Barbosu sharing the bronze. They both have a reason to believe they were the rightful winners. It’s too late to tell either they’re wrong.
In a perfect world, the judges would have scored Chiles’ routine correctly the first time, removing the need for her initial on-floor appeal. Or they would have rejected her appeal for being too late, and there wouldn’t have been the need for the Romanian appeal. Or the IOC would have acknowledged the court’s ruling but not landed on the ridiculous decision to take away a medal Chiles earned.
There were so many opportunities for the people in charge to get this right and end it. Now, they’re getting one last chance, and they better not screw it up.