Jordan Chiles has scored a major victory in her continued battle to restore her bronze medal from the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland announced on Thursday, January 29, that they granted part of Chiles’ appeal.
“In the highly exceptional circumstances of the case in question, it considers that there is a likelihood for the audio-visual recording of the final on 5 August 2024 to lead to a modification of the contested award in favor of the applicants,” a statement shared with USA Today read. “The CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] could consider, in the light of this audio-visual sequence, that the verbal inquiry made on behalf of Jordan Chiles had been made before the expiry of the regulatory one-minute time limit.”
Chiles, 24, was first awarded the bronze medal during the women’s floor exercise final of the gymnastics competition in August 2024 after Chiles’ score was elevated to medal position after Team USA filed an inquiry into the difficulty of one of her jumps. The inquiry was accepted, boosting Chiles’ score and knocking Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu off the podium.
Team Romania, however, subsequently filed an inquiry into the Team USA request, claiming that it was submitted past the allotted deadline. The CAS ruled in Romania’s favor, reallocating the medal to Barbosu, 19.
Chiles filed an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland in September 2024, seeking to overturn the CAS’ decision to reallocate her trophy. While her petition also questioned the independence of the CAS and its apparent ties to Romania, that part of the motion was rejected on Thursday.
“We are delighted that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has righted a wrong and given Jordan the chance she deserves to reclaim her bronze medal,” Chiles’ attorney Maurice Suh said in a statement. “As the court recognized, there is ‘conclusive’ video evidence that Jordan was the rightful winner of the bronze medal.”
Suh continued, “We also appreciate the Court’s recognition that ‘extraordinary time pressure’ and notification defects prevented Jordan from presenting this important evidence in August 2024. We appreciate that Jordan will receive a full and fair opportunity to defend her bronze medal.”
While Chiles has not publicly addressed her latest court victory, she’s previously been candid about the overall ordeal.
“I am overwhelmed by the love I have received over the past few days. I am also incredibly grateful to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, USAG and the USOPC for their unwavering support during this difficult time,” she wrote in an August 2024 Instagram statement. “While celebrating my Olympic accomplishments, I heard the devastating news that my bronze medal had been stripped away.”
She continued, “I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country. … I will never waver from my values of competing with integrity, striving for excellence, upholding the values of sportsmanship and the rules that dictate fairness. I have taken pride in cheering on everyone regardless of team or country.”
That same month, Barbosu also addressed the controversy.
“Sabrina [Maneca-Voinea], Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling because I’ve been through the same,” Barbosu wrote in a social media statement, referring to their fellow gymnast whose result was also affected by the inquiry. “But I know you’ll come back stronger. I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share the same podium. This is my true dream.”
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