PARIS: Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu will be awarded the Olympic floor exercise bronze medal originally given to Jordan Chiles, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Sunday.
The IOC decision follows a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling on Saturday which cancelled the re-evaluation of Chiles’ score on the grounds that the appeal of her degree of difficulty was lodged by the US team four seconds after the regulatory deadline, set at one minute.
After the review, the score for Chiles, who won team gold with the United States, was upgraded to 13.766 points, meaning she moved from fifth to third position. That was enough to earn bronze behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and US superstar Simone Biles.
But it was a devastating blow for Barbosu who thought she had bagged bronze with her score of 13.700, and was already celebrating with the Romanian flag.
USA Gymnastics on Sunday formally submitted a letter and video evidence to CAS, showing that head coach Cecile Landi’s inquiry request was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score.
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“The time-stamped, video evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics Sunday evening shows Landi first stated her request to file an inquiry at the inquiry table 47 seconds after the score is posted, followed by a second statement 55 seconds after the score was originally posted,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement.
“The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it.”
In the letter, USA Gymnastics requested that the CAS ruling be revised and Chiles’ bronze-medal score of 13.766 reinstated.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had called the original decision that cost Barbosu bronze a “scandalous situation” and said he would boycott the Olympic closing ceremony.
One of the defining images of the Paris Games shows Biles and Chiles, bowing to Andrade, on the podium.
“We’re in contact with the national Olympic Committee of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and that of the United States regarding the return of the bronze medal,” an IOC spokesman told AFP.
“I can barely express my emotions, I can’t believe it,” Barbosu said after learning she was awarded her country’s only medal in the gymnastics competition.
“When I heard the news, I was afraid it wasn’t true, and once I was sure, I hugged my parents and called everyone who had helped me.”
A devastated Chiles took to Instagram, posting four broken hearts, adding: “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you”.
“All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?” wrote Chiles’ teammate Sunisa Lee on Instagram. “Completely unacceptable. This is awful and I’m gutted for Jordan.”
Biles, who trains with Chiles and won team gold with her in Paris, added: “Sending you so much love Jordan. Keep your chin up Olympic champ! We love you!”
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