What We Know About Gymnast Jordan Chiles, Who Was Stripped of Her Bronze Medal

Jordan Chiles is fighting to get her bronze medal back through a formal appeal filed with the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

USA Today reports that Chiles's attorneys filed a formal appeal with Switzerland's Supreme Court in an effort to overturn a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that stripped Chiles of her third place medal in the women's floor exercise at the Paris Olympics. Chiles also intends to file a separate motion “seeking additional and alternative relief from the Swiss Federal Supreme Court,” USA Today reports.

The goal, Chiles's lawyers said in a statement, is to have Chiles's case retried by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. "Both briefs could result in a retrial of this matter before CAS in order to allow her — for the first time — to prepare a defense and present evidence, including the video footage showing that her coach’s scoring inquiry was submitted on time," the statement said.

More than the medal, Chiles's appeal is about fairness. “Chiles is pursuing her case to encourage the entire Olympic community to take steps to ensure that future Olympians do not face a similar ordeal,” the statement says. “Chiles believes in competing fairly and with integrity and holding these organizations to the standards and rules that were established to ensure fairness.”

At the 2024 Olympics, Chiles earned a score of 13.66 in the women's floor final, putting her in 5th place. After an inquiry into the score, however, judges recalibrated Chiles's place, boosting her to third and unseating Romania's Ana Bărbosu — who had already lifted her country's flag in celebration. Chiles was also pushed ahead of another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who was in fourth place. Chiles was shocked by the last-minute turn of events, bursting into tears and celebrating with teammate Simone Biles. She, Biles, and gold medal winner Rebeca Andrade made up the first all-Black gymnastics podium in Olympic history.

But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on August 10 that Chiles's inquiry was filed after the one-minute deadline allowed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, overturning Chiles's bronze medal win. In a press release, CAS ordered, “The initial score of 13.666 given to Ms. Jordan Chiles in the final of the women’s Floor exercise shall be reinstated.” The CAS left the medal ranking up to the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, which confirmed on Saturday night that Chiles was ousted from her third-place position, restoring the initial order with Bărbosu in third.

“Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in a statement. “We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”

USA Gymnastics on Sunday released a statement saying they provided “time-stamped, video evidence” to the CAS that could, if considered valid, reinstate Jordan Chiles's bronze medal win. But the CAS declined their appeal, meaning Chiles will still lose her medal.

According to USA Gymnastics's statement, their additional evidence shows that Chiles's inquiry was actually filed before the one minute deadline, and requests that Chiles's bronze medal score be reinstated.

According to ESPN, the Romanian Olympic Committee asked for all three athletes to be awarded bronze medals. It's not clear how Chiles must return her medal, as she has already returned to the U.S.

After largely staying silent on the controversy around her bronze medal, gymnast Jordan Chiles posted a statement on August 15.

“I am overwhelmed by the love I have received over the past few days,” Chiles wrote in an Instagram post. “While celebrating my Olympic accomplishment, I heard the devastating news that my bronze medal had been stripped away. I had confidence in the appeal brought by USAG, who gave conclusive evidence that my score followed all the rules. The appeal was unsuccessful. I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey.”

Read more about Jordan Chiles's statement here.

Since the news broke, many on social media have posted in support of Chiles. In a statement posted on X, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said they are “devastated” by the decision, saying the initial inquiry into Chiles's score that led to her bronze medal was filed in good faith and in what they believed to be accordance with the rules.

In an Instagram story, Simone Biles showed her support to her teammate and friend, urging her to “keep your chin up, Olympic champ.” UCLA Gymnastics, where Chiles is set to head in the fall, also posted their support.

On Instagram, Chiles's sister, Jazmin Chiles, also addressed the controversy. In a story post about her sister losing her medal, she said “racism is real, it exists, it is alive and well.” After her initial win, Chiles was subject to a flood of rude and, at times, racist comments on social media.

USA Gymnastics addressed these negative comments in their statement. "Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media," USA Gymnastics said. “No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”

Chiles posted a series of broken heart emojis to her own Instagram story, saying that she was taking a break from social media to maintain her mental health.

This story was first published on August 10, and has since been updated. It will continue to be updated as we learn more.

Related: Gymnast Jordan Chiles Talks Bronze Medal, Going Back to UCLA and That Historic All-Black Podium