Olympics officials yank US gymnast Jordan Chiles' bronze medal

American gymnast Jordan Chiles was stripped of her bronze medal Sunday after the International Gymnastics Federation reinstated Romania's Ana Barbosu as the third place finisher in the gymnastics floor exercise competition.

Chiles, 23, had initially finished fifth last Monday before U.S. coach Cecile Landi successfully lobbied that the gymnast's difficulty score had not been adequately credited, and a recalculation boosted her to third place.

The back-and-forth adjustments created an agonizing emotional hit for Chiles, Barbosu, and Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.

Chiles initially ended the floor exercise competition with 13.666, which was fifth, behind Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea at 13.700. But Landi's appeal increased Chiles' score by 0.1, which elevated her to third place.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation, however, requested that CAS review the procedure because official guidelines require coaches to appeal a score within one minute of its posting.

CAS ruled that Landi's appeal was made in 1 minute and 4 seconds, just missing the deadline. That bumped Chile back to fifth place.

"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," 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."

The U.S. plans to appeal the decision.

"We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed," it said in a statement.

"Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves."

Chiles was attacked on social media after her score was raised.

Barbosu, meanwhile, pleaded for calm earlier in the week, blaming the judging panel and not the gymnasts.

"We as athletes don't deserve something like that. We only want to perform as best as we can and to be rewarded based on our performance," Barbosu said. "The problems lie with the judges, with their calculations and decisions," she added.

Long-time friend Simone Biles urging Chles her to "keep her chin up " and teammate Sunisa Lee called the new decision "unacceptable."

Tags

Olympics, Paris, Romania, Usa, Appeal