Jordan Chiles breaks silence on Olympic bronze medal controversy

‘I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country,’ Chiles writes

The gymnast was stripped of her bronze medal five days after competing in Paris (Getty Images)

Jordan Chiles has spoken out regarding her bronze medal being stripped away, after her floor routine score was promoted from fifth place to third place following an inquiry into the scoring system — and then demoted back to fifth once more after an appeal from an opponent.

The Team USA Gymnast turned to Instagram on Thursday, August 15, to address the debacle in a statement. “I am overwhelmed by the love I have received over the past few days. I am also incredibly grateful to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, USAG and the USOPC for their unwavering support during this difficult time,” her post began.

“While celebrating my Olympic accomplishments, 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. This appeal was unsuccessful.”

Chiles continued, biting that she had “no words” for what happened and viewed it as a “significant blow” to everyone who fought for her along the way.

“To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful,” Chiles said. “I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country.”

During her floor routine on August 5, she received a score of 13.666, which put her in fifth place. However, her coach then filed an inquiry to raise her difficulty score with the judges, who then changed her score to a 13.766, moving her up to third place and knocking Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu down to fourth in the rankings.

After Chiles received her bronze medal, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) — an independent body that resolves international sports disputes — claiming that the American coach filed the inquiry past the one-minute deadline.

CAS ruled on August 10 that the inquiry was indeed filed outside of the one-minute window and the original scores would be reinstated. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) upheld this decision and ordered Chiles to return her bronze medal. The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee announced on Tuesday, August 13, that there would be a ceremony in Bucharest on Friday, August 16, to give Bărbosu the medal.

Shortly after, Chiles posted three broken heart emojis on her Instagram Story following an announcement that she would be spending some time off of social media. “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you,” she wrote at the time.

“I will never waver from my values of competing with integrity, striving for excellence, upholding the values of sportsmanship and the rules that dictate fairness. I have taken pride in cheering on everyone regardless of team or country,” her statement read on Thursday. “Finding joy again has been a culture shift and I love seeing others embrace it. I feel like I have given everyone permission to be authentic to who they are.”

Chiles concluded: “I am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career. Believe me when I say I have had many. I will approach this challenge as I have others — and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing.”