Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles has "no plans" of returning the bronze medal she was stripped of in the women's floor exercise final at the recently concluded Paris Olympics 2024, despite the International Olympic Committee awarding third place to Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu.
Chiles is not giving her medal back as US officials plan to appeal the decision made by the IOC to award Barbosu the podium finish days after the competition despite initially proclaiming the 23-year-old American gymnast the bronze winner, USA Today's Christine Brennan reported.
"There are no plans for Chiles to give the bronze medal back as U.S. officials say they plan to appeal," Brennan wrote.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) told CNN on Thursday that there were "significant procedural errors" by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that "deprived us of adequate time to respond meaningfully or gather necessary evidence."
The USOPC and USA Gymnastics will continue to appeal the matter. It is understood that the medal remains with the Oregon native.
The appeal is expected to head to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
Chiles, who also won a Gold medal in the team All-Around, was initially placed fifth in the competition before Team USA coach Cecile Landi appealed to receive a 0.1 credit for a maneuver she did during her performance, Fox News reported. The appeal was granted during the event, pushing Chiles' score up--enough to land her a bronze finish and push Barbosu out of medal contention.
However, Romania later protested the decision, arguing that the appeal was made a few seconds too late in the one-minute time frame allowed by the IOC. The CAS approved the appeal, awarding Barbosu the medal finish.
On Friday, she received her Olympic bronze at an event in Bucharest. Her bronze win marks a Romanian gymnast's first individual Olympic medal in 12 years.
Jordan Chiles reacts to losing her medal
Chiles has also commented on the decision, posting on Instagram that she feels the decision is "unjust" for her and her team.
However, the champion gymnast promised her supporters that she would make every effort "to ensure justice is done."
"I believe that after the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing," she wrote.
RELATED ARTICLE: Is Simone Biles Retiring From the Olympics?
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
