The controversial medal ceremony
Chiles made history during the Olympics when she stood on the podium alongside two other Black women, Simone Biles and Rebecca Andrade, marking the first time in Olympic history that three Black female gymnasts shared the same medal podium in a gymnastics event. However, this historic moment was overshadowed when an arbitration court ruled that a last-minute inquiry — which had boosted Chiles’ score into third place — was filed just seconds too late.
Despite U.S. gymnastics officials asserting that they could provide video evidence proving the inquiry was submitted on time, CAS declined to reconsider the case. Subsequently, Olympic officials announced that the bronze medal would be reallocated to Ana Barbosu of Romania, who received the medal in a ceremony held in Bucharest.
Chiles’ legal battle
In response to this ruling, Chiles appealed to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, seeking a reevaluating of her case. Her legal counsel, Maurice M. Suh, emphasized the importance of fairness in the Olympic process.
“Jordan Chiles’ appeals present the international community with an easy legal question — will everyone stand by while an Olympic athlete who has done only the right thing is stripped of her medal because of fundamental unfairness in an ad-hoc arbitration process? The answer to that question should be no,” Suh stated.
The appeal requests that the CAS ruling be vacated and that the case be reconsidered. Chiles’ legal team argues that a retrial would allow her to present a defense and submit evidence, including video footage that supports her claim that the scoring inquiry was filed on time.
The timeline of events
- Aug. 5, 2024: Chiles initially finishes the floor exercise with a score of 13.666, placing her fifth.
- Post-competition: Chiles’ coach files an inquiry regarding the scoring, which is accepted. This raised her score to 13.766.
- CAS ruling: Following an appeal from the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, CAS determines the inquiry was filed four seconds too late and reverts Chiles’ score back to 13.666.
- Medal reallocation: The bronze medal is awarded to Ana Barbosu, leading to Chiles’ appeal.
The emotional toll
The ruling has taken an emotional toll on Chiles, who expressed her heartbreak over the situation.
“I followed the rules. My coach followed the rules. We did everything totally, completely right. I feel like they just took that all away,” she shared.
This sentiment resonates with many who have witnessed the challenges faced by Black athletes in competitive sports. The feeling engendered community support, including from Biles and hip-hop legend Flavor Flav, who gave Chiles a bronze clock chain at this year’s VMAs.
Concerns over fairness in arbitration
Chiles’ appeal also raises concerns about the fairness of the arbitration process itself. Her legal team has called for the removal of arbitrator Hamid Gharavi from any future hearings, citing potential conflicts of interest, as Gharavi is currently providing legal counsel to Romania in other international matters.
“From start to finish, the procedures leading to the CAS panel’s decision were fundamentally unfair, and it is no surprise that they resulted in an unjust decision,” the law firm Gibson Dunn representing Chiles remarked in a statement.
