USA Gymnastics is fighting for Jordan Chiles to keep the bronze medal for the women’s floor routine in her possession.
In a statement published Sunday evening, the organization revealed it acquired new video evidence that disputes the decision made by the International Olympic Committee on Sunday to strip Chiles of her bronze medal and give it to Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu instead.
USA Gymnastics formally submitted a letter requesting that Chiles's score of 13.766—which was enough to win the bronze medal in the floor final—be reinstated.
"The time-stamped video evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics 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," the organization 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."
The bronze medal controversy began one day after the competition when the Romanian Federation of Gymnastics filed a protest to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding an appeal made by Chiles's coach Cecile Landi.
Shortly after Chiles earned her score for her floor routine, Landi appealed to the judges because she believed the gymnast's difficulty score was too low. The challenge was successful, and Chiles's score was bumped from 13.666 (fifth place) to 13.766 (third place).
However, an arbitral panel ruled Saturday that Landi made the appeal 64 seconds after the routine was completed, which is four seconds over the allowed one-minute time limit. USA Gymnastics now allegedly has video evidence that debunks that ruling, stating that Landi actually appealed the score 47 seconds after it was posted.
Along with USA Gymnastics coming to Chiles's defense, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced it plans to appeal the ruling around Chiles as well.
"The USOPC will be appealing the recent decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding Jordan Chiles," the organization said in a statement Sunday. "We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed."
This article was originally published on www.si.com as USA Gymnastics Digs Up New Evidence to Refute Jordan Chiles Bronze Medal Ruling.
