As she fought back tears, Jordan Chiles explained why she still has her bronze medal.
Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles still has the Olympic bronze medal that dominated headlines this summer. In a tearful interview with Today, Jordan spoke about her emotional journey after the Paris Olympics and why she’s still holding on to the medal.
Many may never know what Chiles has been experiencing behind the scenes as she continues to fight for the right to keep the bronze medal from her floor routine after it was stripped away. But, on Monday, she spoke with Hoda Kotb about her continued battle and why it means so much.
During a tearful interview, Chiles revealed what’s happened since Paris, the support she’s received and why her bronze medal means more to her than even the gold medal she won with Team USA. Here’s part of what she shared in a nearly ten-minute segment:
“It was like a cherry on top. My redemption tour going into Paris was — ‘Yes.’ Coming back with a gold, coming back with the understanding that I was able to go out there and be the best version of myself — With this floor medal it was like, ‘Wow, I never expected myself to make a floor final’…
“Plus it was an all Black podium. That was history being made. I was very glad to be a part of…”
The regular-season schedule opens up on Friday, Jan. 10 inside the O’Connell Center.
The Florida gymnastics team’s regular-season schedule for the 2025 campaign was unveiled on Friday, revealing the Gators’ 10 match dates for a total of 12 opponents. Eight of those matchups will be against fellow Southeastern Conference schools.
The regular-season schedule opens up on Friday, Jan. 10 inside the O’Connell Center with three non-conference opponents arriving in Gainesville for a four-pack of gymnastics action. The Michigan State Spartans, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Northern Illinois Huskies will all be in Gainesville for the Gators’ Club Gym Night.
The SEC slate begins the following week on the road in Baton Rouge against the LSU Tigers.
Florida faces five programs that earned bids — as did the Gators — in last season’s NCAA women’s gymnastics tournament, with four of them having advanced alongside them to the championships semifinals. The Orange and Blue ultimately finished fourth in the championship finals with LSU taking home the top prize.
Take a look below at what Florida faces in the 2025 regular season, along with the postseason schedule for next spring.
Gators Gymnastics 2025 schedule
Date
Opponent
Site
Time (ET)
1/10
Michigan St, Nebraska, Northern Illinois
Home
6:45 p.m.
1/17
LSU
Away
7:30 p.m.
1/24
Georgia (Alumni Night)
Home
5:45 p.m.
2/2
West Virginia
Away
2 p.m.
2/7
Arkansas
Away
7 p.m.
2/14
Auburn (Gators Link to Pink)
Home
8:15 p.m.
2/21
Oklahoma
Away
9 p.m.
2/28
Missouri (Equality Night)
Home
5:45 p.m.
3/7
Alabama
Away
TBA
3/14
Kentucky (Senior Night)
Home
6:45 p.m.
2025 Postseason Dates
March 22
Southeastern Conference Championships
April 2-6
NCAA Regional Championships
April 2-5
Sites: Penn State & Utah
April 3-6
Sites: Alabama & Washington
April 17 & 19
NCAA Championships (Dickies Arena / Fort Worth, TX)
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
2028 will be the 15th NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Regional held in the O’Connell Center.
The NCAA announced over 240 host site selections for various collegiate sports on Wednesday, including women’s college volleyball. Among those who earned the prestigious honor was the Florida volleyball program, which was picked to host the NCAA Gymnastics Regional Championships in 2028.
The regional sites for the 2027 and 2028 NCAA gymnastics postseasons were featured in the announcement. Fort Worth, Texas, remains the site for the 2027 NCAA Championships, with the 2028 final site to be announced at a later date.
This will be the 15th NCAA Regional held in the O’Connell Center.
“This is terrific news that NCAA Regional action is returning to Gainesville in 2028,” Florida head coach Jenny Rowland offered.
“It was a great experience for our team to play host to regionals this past season and Gator fans turned out with almost double the attendance of any other region site,” she continued. “This is an opportunity for gymnastics fans to cheer some of the nation’s top gymnasts as they compete for a national championship berth.”
Dickies Arena, Ft. Worth, Texas (Texas Woman’s University)
Alabama
Penn State
Utah
Washington
2026
April 2-4
Dickies Arena, Ft. Worth, Texas (Texas Woman’s University)
Arizona State
Kentucky
Louisiana State
Oregon State
2027
TBA
Dickies Arena, Ft. Worth, Texas (Texas Woman’s University)
Arkansas
Denver
Georgia
NC State
2028
TBA
TBA
Auburn
Florida
Michigan
Utah
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Chiles took to the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday alongside Flavor Flav, and the Public Enemy rapper had a surprise for the athlete. Flav was extremely involved in the Summer Olympics, sponsoring the women’s and men’s water polo teams and attending several other events.
After the ruling came down that would take Chiles’ medal, Flav told the gymnast that he would give her one of his iconic bejeweled clocks. He came through, presenting Chiles with a bronze bedazzled medal replacement and telling her that he’d also cover the prize money ($15,000).
Someone had the brilliant idea of casting Stephen Nedoroscik in the new season of Dancing with the Stars, and I’m so excited.
To be honest, I’m more than excited. I’m THRILLED. Starting September 17, Stephen and several other dancers, yet to be named, will be moving and grooving all over the dance floor in front of judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.
Per Good Morning America, Steve is also super pumped about joining the cast and will bring his expert Olympian moves to his routine. He says, “I want to do some flares. I want to bring some of that gymnastics — maybe a backflip or handstand. I want to have fun with it.”
From the pommel horse to the dance floor, two-time bronze medalist Stephen Nedoroscik is hitting the ballroom floor on this season of #DWTS! 🕺🏅👏
Host George Stephanopoulos asked Steve how he would dance with his medals around his neck. “That’s a good question,” Steve said.” “Dangerously!”
If fans are wondering if he’ll dance the same way he competes — without his glasses — Steve explained that things might have to change.
“I’m scared they’ll fly off is the thing, but you know, maybe we could do a gadget — keep them on. Maybe a new pair of glasses. Match the theme, right?”
The meme took over social media, with people finding all kinds of ways to use a moment where Simone turned her head and appeared startled by something to their advantage. Simone seemingly knows about her head-turning meme being a thing with the internet because she recreated it for a TikTok with Netflix, and it’s glorious.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) concluded, without providing concrete evidence, that the Americans challenged the score four seconds after the one minute window to legally do so under International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) rules. Despite the fact the judges were simply correcting a score that they initially miscalculated, Romania will be awarding the bronze medal to Ana Maria Barbosu on Friday in Bucharest.
Chiles, who has been the victim of repeated hateful and racist attacks online, has mostly remained off social media while the arbitration system plays out. On Thursday, she released a statement calling the CAS ruling “devastating” and vowed to keep fighting for the medal.
Good morning, Winners! Thank you so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time.
I know I said we were done talking about the Olympics, but I’m sorry. Today we’ve got to circle back because this Jordan Chiles bronze medal thing has become a complete dumpster fire.
Chiles is being forced to give her Olympic medal back, which is already bizarre. But what makes it worse is that it’s everyone’s fault but hers.
It all started with Chiles dramatically winning her Olympic bronze medal two weeks ago in the individual floor routine competition. Her original score was posted at 13.666, but her coach, Cecile Landi, filed an inquiry with the judges, arguing that they’d miscalculated her difficulty score.
It turns out Landi was right. They did miscalculate her score. Following the inquiry, her score bumped by a tenth, giving her a 13.766, which just edged out Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu for bronze.
The drama that was unnecessary, sure. But, hey. At least the problem was solved, right? Wrong. At least, according to the Court of Arbitration in Sport and the International Olympic Committee.
To make a long story short, the CAS ruled that Landi’s inquiry came a whopping four seconds after the one-minute deadline following Chiles’ initial score, so it shouldn’t have been accepted. And because it shouldn’t have been accepted, the IOC is making Chiles return her bronze medal that she would’ve won in the first place if the judges had just done their jobs properly.
The situation, somehow, gets worse. Team USA decided to appeal the ruling with evidence that Landi’s inquiry did, indeed, beat the 1-minute deadline required. Twice. But the CAS doesn’t allow arbitral awards to be reconsidered — even if the evidence clearly says it should be! On top of that, the CAS reportedly didn’t even speak to the right Team USA officials when considering the Romanian appeal.
The question I’m left to ponder here is this: Does anyone involved in this process know how to do their jobs? It sure doesn’t seem like it.
All these institutions we’re supposed to trust have failed here. The gymnastics judges, the IOC, the CAS. They’ve all fumbled their part of the process along the way to bring us to this very moment where Chiles is being made to pay for their mistakes.
Not only is she being wrongfully stripped of a medal that she earned, but now she’s also vulnerable to the most hateful people on the internet who were already going to try and invalidate her incredible accomplishment with racist attacks before the ineptitude of these governing bodies added fuel to the fire.
Chiles took solace in knowing she was part of gymnastics’ first all-Black podium. She was proud of that. That meant more than any medal. It was history. A positive spin that — let’s be honest — gymnastics desperately needed.
Now, whether she gets to keep the medal or not, the moment will forever be blighted by the incompetence of the governing bodies that are supposed to be protecting this sport.
I’d say it’s a shame, but it’d be awfully presumptuous of me to assume that the parties involved have any.
On the road again
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The New York Jets have reclaimed their throne, folks. Somehow, the other New York team has already become the most dramatic team in the NFL and we haven’t even played a game yet.
Remember when the Jets traded a conditional third-round pick to the Eagles for Haason Reddick back in April? Yeah, well, he already wants out.
Our Cory Woodroof has five teams Douglas can call when he inevitably changes his mind about this, though, starting with the Atlanta Falcons.
“No team in the NFL needs Reddick like the Falcons. Seriously. If the Falcons could find a way to add a talent like Reddick to their pass-rushing group, that’d be a huge, huge boost to a pretty middling unit on paper. Reddick would arguably be Atlanta’s most proven pass-rusher since defensive end John Abraham, who last played for the Falcons in 2012.”
Make the call, Joe.
Living your best life … kind of
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker seem to be having an blast together in St. Tropez after winning a gold medal.
I will say I’ve never seen anyone make going down a slide seem less … meh? than Kevin Durant. My boy still has his game face on.
book and kd living their best lives in st tropez post olympics as they deserve 🥲 pic.twitter.com/OP61O0Srj0
It looks like Jordan Chiles has to return her bronze medal. Let us explain.
Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. This is FTW Explains: The Olympics. Have you seen some stuff about Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles possibly returning the bronze medal she won in Paris for her floor exercise? And you’re very confused about that whole thing? Don’t worry. We’re here to help.
You may remember when Jordan Chiles dramatically won a bronze medal for her floor routine on Monday following a coach’s challenge to her score. It turns out the saga did not end there as Romania (understandably) lodged its own appeal of Team USA’s challenge.
It’s been an extremely emotional few days for Chiles as the fate of her medal was left up to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG).
Saturday brought a little clarity to the situation, and it’s really a heartbreaking one for all athletes involved following multiple appeals.
Why does Chiles has to give her medal back?
UPDATE Sunday 5:15 a.m. ET: Chiles does have to give her medal back, the International Olympic Committee announced Sunday. More via USA TODAY Sports:
The news comes less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the judging panel for the women’s floor exercise final made a mistake in granting an inquiry filed by Chiles’ coaches, which moved the American gymnast into medal position. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation had challenged the validity of that move, saying it was filed four seconds beyond the deadline by which any inquiries had to be submitted.
The IOC said in a statement that it will reallocate the bronze medal to Romania’s Ana Barbosu.
Original story:
Well, first let’s slow down. As of Saturday afternoon Chiles doesn’t have to give anything back, but we will update this post if that changes.
PARIS (AP) — Gymnastics body bumps Romania's Ana Barbosu to third in floor finals, doesn't say if Jordan Chiles must forfeit bronze.
If you remember, Chiles originally placed fifth in her floor routine with a score of 13.666 behind two Romanian gymnasts, Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (who each scored 13.7). Chiles’ coaches sucessfully challenged the judges’ scoring on the difficulty of her’ routine, which added 0.1 to her score and earned Chiles the bronze.
No one is arguing Chiles’ initial score was correct or that the judges were wrong to award the 0.1 upon review.
Instead, Romania’s appeal came down to the timing of Team USA’s challenge. CAS ruled the Americans did, indeed, challenge too late, according to FIG rules — by a matter of four seconds.
FOUR SECONDS!? Chiles might lose her bronze because of four seconds!?
Yep. It’s truly awful, but those are the rules. Coaches get 60 seconds to challenge a score from the moment it flashes across the scoreboard. Chiles’ challenge came in after 64 seconds.
Inquiries for the Difficulty score are allowed, provided that they are made verbally immediately after the publication of the score or at the very latest before the score of the following gymnast/athlete or group is shown.
In case two (2) categories / apparatus are judged alternatively (by two (2) panels or one single panel) the inquiry must be made before the score of the following gymnast or group of the same category/apparatus is shown.
For the last gymnast or group of a rotation, this limit is one (1) minute after the score is shown on the scoreboard. The person designated to receive the verbal inquiry has to record the time of receiving it, either in writing or electronically, and this starts the procedure.
Only the accredited coaches in the competition area are entitled to submit an inquiry.
Well, that’s just a very bad rule
Look, if the point is to make sure the athletes get the fairest score possible, then yes. It’s a very bad rule. But it’s also the rule that’s in place. And just as it was fair for Team USA to challenge Chiles’ score, it’s fair for Romania to appeal the challenge.
But Romania’s request actually extremely generous. They wanted to split the bronze three ways. Which brings us back to the CAS.
The Applicants sought a ruling from the CAS Ad hoc Division concluding that the Inquiry was filed beyond the 1-minute deadline specified in art. 8.5 of FIG 2024 Technical Regulations (i.e. 1 minute and 4 seconds) and dismissing the Inquiry as untimely, thereby upholding the initial score of 13.666 and adjusting the final ranking accordingly. The Applicants also sought a conclusion that the penalty of 0.1 for execution imposed on Ms Sabrina Maneca-Voinea was given without basis, thereby increasing her score to 13.800, and that the final ranking be adjusted accordingly. Subsidiarily, the Applicants requested a ruling adjusting the ranking of Ms Ana Maria Bărbosu, Ms Sabina Maneca-Voinea and Ms Jordan Chiles by placing all three athletes in 3rd position and the allocation of medals to all three athletes.
1. The application filed by Federation Romanian Gymnastics and Ms Ana Bărbosu on 6 August 2024, in its amended version of 8 August 2024, is partially upheld.
2. The inquiry submitted on behalf of Ms Jordan Chiles in the Final of the women’s Floor exercise was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline provided by article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations and is determined to be without effect.
3. The initial score of 13.666 given to Ms Jordan Chiles in the final of the women’s Floor exercise shall be reinstated.
4. The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique shall determine the ranking of the Final of the women’s Floor exercise and assign the medal(s) in accordance with the above decision.
5. All other requests are dismissed.
So now it’s up to the FIG to determine the final standings using Chiles’ original score?
Basically, and who knows what they’ll decide to do here.
No matter what happens, it seems like the gymnasts are going to be punished for the judges’ poor performance. Had they scored Chiles’ correctly to begin with, there wouldn’t have been anything to challenge.
Does Team USA have anything to say about this?
It sure does.
Joint Statement from USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee regarding the CAS decision on the women’s floor final:
Honestly, it’s tough to say. Aside from the personal heartache of having a medal potentially ripped away on a technicality, she has faced some brutal and racist attacks online.
Because of that, she declared that she’s taking a break from social media.
via instagram.com/jordanchiles
Jazmin Chiles, Jordan Chiles’ sister, says the gymnast was officially stripped of her medal:
While taking in some of this year’s track and field events at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA women’s gymnastics superstar Simone Biles shared something absolutely fascinating with Snoop Dogg.
Biles told Snoop Dogg that she’s “never watched any other event before, so this is my first time.” Of course, that surprised the rap legend since Biles is such a monumental figure in Olympics history.
As she’s always been very busy with her gymnastics events, it makes sense that Biles has a busy schedule at any Olympic Games.
However, that this was the first time she’d ever just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed an Olympic sport as a spectator is absolutely wild.
If this really is the last time Biles competes at the Olympics, maybe she’ll have more time in the future to enjoy the Games from the stands.
