U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles called the International Olympic Committee’s ruling that stripped her of her Olympic bronze medal “unjust” while condemning “racially driven attacks on social media” she has faced, after a successful appeal by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation led to Ana Barbosu being declared the bronze medal winner.
Jordan Chiles was originally awarded the bronze medal on floor exercise after an appeal filed by her ... [+]
In a statement posted to Instagram Thursday afternoon, Chiles thanked her supporters, including USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, who have vowed to appeal a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that led to Chiles’ medal being stripped after the games.
She said she will “make every effort to ensure justice is done,” calling the brewing legal battle to challenge the loss of her medal “one of the most challenging moments of my career.”
Chiles’ medal was stripped Sunday on the basis that an inquiry filed by her coach that raised her score into bronze medal position was allegedly filed four seconds after the deadline—which USA Gymnastics has said it has “conclusive evidence” to disprove.
Chiles said she had confidence USA Gymnastics’ appeal would succeed, though the appeal failed because CAS refused to reopen the case.
An onslaught of “racially driven attacks” on social media—which both her sister Jazmin and mother Gina Chiles have condemned—only added to the heartbreak she felt following the loss of her medal, Chiles said.
This is a breaking story that will be updated.