BUCHAREST, Romania – Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu received her Olympic bronze medal during a ceremony in the capital Bucharest on Friday, ending a series of controversies after the medal was initially awarded to U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles but later revoked.

“I didn’t expect the medal to be so heavy, but I would wear it day and night if that was the price,” Barbosu said after the ceremony.

The medal was re-awarded to Barbosu after the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week overturned an appeal by U.S. team coach Cecile Landi during the floor exercise final in Paris on August 5, which had catapulted Chiles into third place and pushed Barbosu back to fourth.

Following the appeal, Chiles was initially awarded the bronze medal and took part in the medal ceremony following the competition.

The decision caused an uproar in Romania, a traditional gymnastics stronghold, and prompted the gymnastics federation to request a review of the US team’s appeal. CAS ultimately ruled in Barbosu’s favor, citing that the US team had lodged its appeal four seconds after the one-minute deadline had expired.

Speaking to reporters on Friday after receiving her medal, Barbosu said the resolution of the controversy was “possible with the help of the federation and the law firm, who did not give up on us athletes and fought for us.”

“I am very happy with this medal and hope to represent Romania at the highest level and bring home more medals,” she said.

Romania has long been a gymnastics superpower but has fallen off the map in recent years. Barbosu’s result gives Romania its first Olympic medal in gymnastics since the 2012 London Games. USA Gymnastics has said it will continue to push for Chiles to keep her medal.

Requests are a standard part of gymnastics competitions, where athletes or coaches ask judges to review an exercise to ensure elements are scored correctly. Scores can be adjusted up or down based on a request.

But the Paris Games affair was painful for all athletes involved and was made worse by the flood of online abuse directed at the gymnasts. Chiles, who received some racially motivated comments on social media that she described as “wrong and extremely hurtful,” said on Thursday that the decision to strip her of her bronze medal was “unjust.”

Barbosu said on Friday that the medal controversy was “sad” and that “we expected the referees and Olympic Games staff to do their job properly.”

Nevertheless, she said, she was sending “good thoughts” to the US gymnasts.

“I’m thinking of her even though I got the medal today,” she said.

Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu poses with the bronze medal for her individual performance in the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after receiving it during a ceremony at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that disqualified her from the bronze medal in floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unjust” and a “heavy blow” in a message posted on social media Thursday. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Mihai Covaliu, president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, presents the Olympic Games mascot to Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu after she received the bronze medal for her individual performance in the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games during a ceremony in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that disqualified her from the bronze medal in floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unjust” and a “heavy blow” in a message posted on social media Thursday. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu poses with the bronze medal for her individual performance in the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after receiving it during a ceremony at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that disqualified her from the bronze medal in floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unjust” and a “heavy blow” in a message posted on social media Thursday. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu poses with the bronze medal for her individual performance in the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after receiving it during a ceremony at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that disqualified her from the bronze medal in floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unjust” and a “heavy blow” in a message posted on social media Thursday. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu poses with the bronze medal for her individual performance in the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after receiving it during a ceremony at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that disqualified her from the bronze medal in floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unjust” and a “heavy blow” in a message posted on social media Thursday. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu poses with the bronze medal for her individual performance in the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after receiving it during a ceremony at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that disqualified her from the bronze medal in floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unjust” and a “heavy blow” in a message posted on social media Thursday. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu poses with the bronze medal for her individual performance in the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after receiving it during a ceremony at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that disqualified her from the bronze medal in floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unjust” and a “heavy blow” in a message posted on social media Thursday. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)