News
Ellie Abraham
Aug 27, 2024
SNTV / VideoElephant
Simone Biles wants "justice" for her fellow Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles after she was stripped of her bronze medal.
Biles had yet another incredible Olympic Games at Paris 2024, becoming the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history. But, some of her teammates weren’t so fortunate.
Chiles went through the agonising experience of being stripped of the bronze medal she was awarded during the medal ceremony for the floor exercise final. It came following a challenge from Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu who was given third place after the fact.
Biles, who won gold alongside Chiles in the all-around team event, revealed she has been supporting Chiles during the understandably emotionally challenging time.
“We’ve been FaceTiming, texting, just being girls,” Biles told Peoplemagazine. “I did talk to her on one of the days, and I was like, ‘You know what, Jordan, you have to feel all these feels. Don’t let these emotions stop you. This will be the healthiest way to get all of this out.’”
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Biles continued: “We saw what you did. And it’s an unfortunate circumstance because something like this has never happened before and it’s truly a shame, but we wish all three girls could get the medal, and unfortunately in gymnastics that’s not the case.”
The gymnast went on to question how the ruling was handled.
“Do we think they did the correct procedures to come to this ruling?” Biles said. “No. That’s really why we want that justice for Jordan and why we’re going to keep supporting her and uplifting her.”
It is not only Biles who has shown Chiles support, as American basketball player LeBron James retweeted a picture of Chiles shared by the Team USA Olympics account on X/Twitter with the caption, “Forever THAT GIRL.”
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