Court voids inquiry that led to bronze for American Jordan Chiles, doesn't say who should get medal

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

Find out moreClose

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The Court of Arbitration for Sport voided the inquiry that led to Olympic bronze on the floor exercise for American gymnast Jordan Chiles, opening the door for Romania's Ana Barbosu to replace Chiles as bronze medalist.

CAS ruled Saturday that the appeal by U.S. coach Cecile Landi to have .1 added to Chiles' score that vaulted Chiles from fifth to third came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

CAS wrote in its decision that the initial finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision.”

Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea were left outside the medals in Monday’s floor final after finishing with matching scores of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker — a higher execution score — and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.

Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially was given a score of 13.666 that put her in fifth place, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an inquiry on her score, and after a review, judges boosted Chiles’ total by 0.1. That was enough to leapfrog Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for the last spot on the podium.

USA Gymnastics said in a statement it is “devastated” by the ruling.

“The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the organization wrote.