2024 Olympics: Jordan Chiles bronze medal race is almost all about gymnastics

The 2024 Olympics are officially over, but there’s still a bronze medal up in the air.

The medal was originally awarded to American gymnast Jordan Chiles, who won gold with the United States in Paris and finished third in the floor exercise final on Aug. 5 — a seemingly once-in-a-lifetime achievement in Olympic history. But on Saturday, on the eve of the final day of the Games, the IOC asked Chiles to return the bronze medal and give it to runner-up Ana Barbossu of Romania.

It’s not common for Olympic officials to ask athletes to return their medals, but what makes Chiles’ case even more bizarre is that it was largely the fault of the judges. Chiles was initially downplayed, then scored correctly, and then told nearly a week later that her correct score shouldn’t have been counted because her coach didn’t spot the error within a minute. That’s the simple reason her medal is now revoked.

This dispute will do nothing good for the credibility of gymnastics, a sport that is already subjectively scored. The fact that the American team appealed the ruling will only attract negative coverage. Unfortunately, Chiles are now embroiled in a more heated and ugly exchange as the bronze medal match gets underway.

If there’s one thing to take away from the saga of Chiles’ bronze medal win, it’s that it had almost nothing to do with the level of gymnastics that Chiles or her competitors displayed in last week’s floor exercise final. Chiles’ powerful tumbling, landings and leaps on the apparatus were nothing compared to technicality.

In the floor exercise final, Chiles initially scored 13.666 points. The U.S. team and Chiles’ coach Cecil Landy questioned the judges, saying that the judges had scored the routine incorrectly and did not give Chiles a score known as “Full TourThe judge reviewed and agreed with the investigation and raised Chiles scored 13.766.

A score of 13.766 was enough for the Chiles to take bronze, while Romania’s Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea were squeezed off the podium (both gymnasts scored 13.700, but Barbosu won the tiebreaker).

Although the Romanian team answered several questions, including Maneca-Voinea’s scoreThe main controversy that triggered this medal dispute is about Time for the US team’s score queryOfficial rules state that Randy’s inquiry into Chiles’ score must be made within one minute of the release of Chiles’ score. Romania argued that Randy made the inquiry one minute and four seconds after Chiles’ score was released. Romania argued that those four seconds put the U.S. team over the time limit and Chiles’ new score should be disqualified.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of Romania. Officially from now onBabosu’s score of 13.700 was recorded as a third-place bronze medal, while Chiris’ score was adjusted down to 13.666. To reflect the ruling, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) asked Chiris to return her bronze medal.

In response to the IOC ruling, USA Gymnastics announced it had submitted additional evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that the investigation was filed within the time limit — not once, but twice. “Time-stamped video evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics on Sunday evening shows that Randy first made the request for an investigation at the investigation table 47 seconds after the score was announced, and then made another statement 55 seconds after the score was announced,” the federation said. In a statement.

USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Monday that it had received notice from the Court of Arbitration for Sport that “its rules do not allow for reconsideration of an arbitration award, even in the presence of compelling new evidence.” USA Gymnastics said it would continue to pursue other avenues to obtain compensation for Chiles.

It’s worth remembering that the fundamental flaw in Chiles’ scoring was a mistake by the referee, which the referee acknowledged. Chiles’ correct score is Chiles’ correct score. Gymnastics is not athletics, and scoring is not determined by a clock, but there are established criteria – including execution of movements – that are assessed in the final score. Claiming that it took four seconds to correct a self-inflicted error by the referee sounds more like a death spiral of retail customer service than a supposedly prestigious Olympic sport, where referees and official timekeepers are expected to follow predetermined protocols.

Of course, this chaos is not caused by a bubble.

In fact, the medal dispute ruined an Olympic milestone: Chiles, her teammate Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade were the first all-black podium in Olympic history. While it was a victory for many and was seen as The development of the sportIt’s no coincidence racist and the far right have seized on the story of the bronze medal being revoked.

Like many sports, gymnastics has its own troubled history of racism and treatment of black athletes. Biles suffers racist attackfrom disparaging her skills to veiled comments about how the multi-gold medalist has used her power to de-elegantly describe the sport. Athletes such as Serena Williams They have faced similar discrimination in sports.

The same right-wingers and racists are now spreading rumors about how the Olympics cheated white gymnasts into winning medals, or that black athletes like Chiles are frauds themselves. Commentator Matt Walsh called 2024 Olympic GamesDEI Olympics“It wasn’t long before those sentiments turned into hateful behavior, with racists beginning to physically attack Chiles.

In the story of the medal return, Jordan says She has temporarily stepped away from social media. Chiles’ mother, Gina, posted on Twitter that her daughter had been the subject of a racist attack:

It was disheartening to see Chiles receive these attacks and have to shut down her public accounts. Medals or no medals, Chiles’ Olympics – a once-in-a-lifetime experience, twice if you’re as fit and skilled as Chiles – will be tainted by the racism and prejudice she suffered as a result of refereeing errors.

All Jordan Chiles did was compete, and she thought she would be judged fairly. But the administrators of the Olympic gymnastics program didn’t give her that chance.

Updated: August 12, 2024, 5:20 PM ET: The report was published on August 12 and updated the news that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) would not hear the US team’s appeal.