By WILL GRAVES | Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — The International Gymnastics Federation on Saturday restored Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu to third in the Paris Olympics women’s floor exercise, potentially forcing American Jordan Chiles to return the bronze she won in the event.
It’s unclear whether Chiles will be compelled to give back the medal. The federation, known as FIG, said that while it has restored the initial order of finish — with Barbosu third, Romanian teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth — the allocation of medals was up to the International Olympic Committee.
FIG made the decision not long after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided an appeal from Team USA coach Cecile Landi that had bumped Chiles onto the podium.
CAS ruled Saturday that the on-floor appeal by Landi to have 0.1 added to Chiles’ score came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the FIG. The ad hoc committee wrote that it came 1 minute, 4 seconds after the score was posted.
CAS wrote that the initial finishing order should be restored. The organization added the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision,” but left it to FIG to decide who would get the bronze behind gold winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the U.S.
FIG spokesperson Meike Behrensen said in an email to The Associated Press that “reallocation of medals is the responsibility of the IOC.” Chiles is already back in the United States.
The Romanian Olympic Committee had asked for three bronze medals to be awarded.
Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea finished the floor exercise final with matching scores of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker — a higher execution score — and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.
Chiles, the last athlete to compete, was initially given a score of 13.666 that placed her fifth, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi appealed, saying the judges had incorrectly assigned the difficulty value of the routine.
Judges awarded the appeal, leapfrogging Chiles past Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for the last spot on the podium.
After the awards ceremony, Landi talked about the appeal: “We had nothing to lose, so I was like, ‘We’re just going to try,’” she said. “I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen, but when I heard her scream, I turned around and was like ‘What?’”
The ruling adds another layer to what has been a difficult few days for all three athletes.
Romanian gymnastics legend and 1976 Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci said she feared for Barbosu’s mental health because of the wrenching sequence of events in which she went from bronze medalist to fourth-place finisher.
“I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this … let’s protect them,” Comaneci posted on X.
Comaneci also criticized the judges for the way they scored Maneca-Voinea’s routine — the gymnast was docked 0.1 points for stepping out of bounds, but viral replays showed she narrowly stayed inbounds. Comaneci urged the Romanian Olympic Committee to protest, which it did, but CAS denied that appeal.
Chiles hinted at the decision in an Instagram story on Saturday, indicating she is heartbroken and is “taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.”
USA Gymnastics said in a statement it is “devastated” by the ruling.
“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 organization wrote.
The 23-year-old Chiles became a target on social media in the aftermath of the late switch, with critics asking her to give back the medal or offering racist remarks. Chiles posted on X earlier this week that “it’s funny how people can still never be happy for someone.”
“Sending you so much love Jordan,” Biles posted on Instagram. “Keep your chin up ‘Olympic champ’ we love you.”
“All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?” teammate Sunisa Lee added on Instagram. “Completely unacceptable, this is awful and I’m gutted for jordan.”
Barbosu made a point of saying that she had no problem with Chiles.
“I only want for everybody to be fair, we don’t want to start picking on other athletes of any nationality,” Barbosu told reporters. “We as athletes don’t deserve something like that, we only want to perform as best as we can and to be rewarded based on our performance. The problems lie with the judges, with their calculations and decisions.”
The uncertainty also tinges what had been a beautiful moment on the medal stand, when Chiles and Biles knelt to honor Andrade after the Brazilian star won her fourth medal in Paris.
“It was just the right thing to do,” Biles said about a moment that soon went viral, with even the Louvre itself suggesting it might be worthy enough for a spot somewhere in the vicinity of the Mona Lisa.
That memory now carries a complicated and emotional postscript.
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Associated Press writer Stephen McGrath contributed to this report.
