Dispute over the Olympic medal reaches Swiss court
American gymnast Jordan Chiles may reclaim the bronze medal on floor exercise from the 2024 Paris Olympics that was stripped from her following an appeal by Romania after all. Switzerland’s supreme court said on Thursday its judges sent the “highly exceptional circumstances” of the bronze medal awarded in the women’s floor exercise back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to examine new evidence.
The outcome of an event that created a celebrated Olympic photo featuring Chiles, floor exercise silver medalist Simone Biles and gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil — all women of color — rests on just a handful of seconds: Can the US team prove it made a timely appeal in the Olympic arena on behalf of Chiles? The federal judges’ ruling — highly unusual in cases of this nature — suggested Chiles could regain the bronze medal she originally got in Paris after challenging her judged score.
Chiles’ third-place finish was overturned within days on appeal by the Romanian team to the CAS’ Olympic court in Paris. The medal was awarded in Bucharest the next week to Ana Maria Barbosu. The federal court wants CAS to examine a recording that could show the original U.S. Challenge of the judged score was within a one-minute deadline on the field of play.
“In the highly exceptional circumstances of the case in question,” the Swiss Federal Tribunal said in a statement, “it considers that there is a likelihood for the audio-visual recording of the final on Aug. 5, 2024 to lead to a modification of the contested award in favor of the applicant (Chiles).” The CAS said in a statement Thursday it “can now ensure a thorough judicial review of the new evidence that has since been made available.”
The court based in Lausanne, across the Olympics’ home city from the supreme court, gave no timetable for the review. It likely will take at least one year to prepare and process before a verdict is ready. Still, the federal court’s decision has given Chiles renewed hope of keeping her medal and putting the controversy behind her.
“We are delighted that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has righted a wrong and given Jordan the chance she deserves to reclaim her bronze medal,” Maurice M. Suh, part of the legal team representing Chiles, said in a statement. “As the Court recognised, there is conclusive’ video evidence that Jordan was the rightful winner of the bronze medal.”
Suh added that Chiles will “fight vigorously” and is grateful to have a “full and fair opportunity to defend her bronze medal.” USA Gymnastics praised the court for recognizing “the flaws in the initial process and that Jordan’s case can now be heard inclusive of all relevant evidence.” Chiles, now 24, has pressed forward with her life after dealing with significant online backlash - some of it racially tinged - in the immediate aftermath.
She returned to compete collegiately at UCLA while also leaning into her burgeoning celebrity, participating on the reality competition “Dancing With the Stars,” posing for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and is currently featured in a commercial for a female athleisure apparel line that also includes tennis icon Serena Williams and track star Sha’Carri Richardson.
