Jordan Chiles and the saga of the Olympic scoring in gymnastics, explains
Jordan Chiles must return her Olympic bronze medal
The International Court of Arbitration for Sport had previously ruled that the jury had made an error in accepting a request submitted by Chile’s coaches.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport created drama in the gymnastics competition at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Saturday by handing down a ruling that could cost Jordan Chiles a bronze medal.
And there have been so many twists and turns since then that it might be difficult to keep up.
In light of recent developments in the event that CAS does not reconsider its original decision, let’s take a moment to analyse how we got here, where we are and what might happen next – particularly with regard to Chile’s bronze medal in floor exercise.
How did this case of Jordan Chile come about?
One of the confusing aspects of this case is that it is essentially an appeal against an appeal.
In the women’s floor exercise final over a week ago, Chiles was able to increase her score from 13.666 to 13.766 after her coach, Cecile Landi, appealed a deduction she received for an element called a tour jete full. The appeal, known in gymnastics as a “query,” overturned the deduction and Chiles finished in third place, knocking Romania’s Ana Barbosu off the podium.
When the Romanian Gymnastics Federation filed its case before CAS, it was essentially appealing the validity of Landis’ appeal and hoping that Chiles’ score would be reset to 13.666.
When CAS agreed, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) readjusted the finish order for that competition and the International Olympic Committee announced that it would ask Chiles to return her medal so that it could be reallocated to Barbosu.
What is a Tour Jete Full?
Without going into too much detail, a tour jete is essentially a split jump – a gymnast does a split while spinning in the air. The question with Chile’s tour jete is whether she spun enough to earn the full difficulty mark.
“I wasn’t confident (at the examination), but what do you have to lose?” said Laurent Landi, another of Chiles’ trainers, immediately after the competition ended. “… I was at the same angle as the judge and I felt that (her Tour Jeté Full) was much better than in all the other competitions she’s been in, so what the heck? We can give it a try.”
What makes this investigation so complicated?
In all likelihood, this controversy would not have arisen had Chiles not been the last of the eight competitors to be eliminated in the floor exercise final. Her luck of the draw meant that her score would ultimately decide the bronze medal. (By that point, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and American star Simone Biles had already secured gold and silver, respectively.)
At any other point in the competition, the query process is fairly straightforward. According to the technical rules published by the FIG, a coach can submit a query of his gymnast’s score at any time before the next competitor’s score is displayed. The exception: For the last gymnast in a rotation, the query must be submitted within one minute “after the score is displayed on the scoreboard.”
Who kept track of the official time?
According to FIG rules, it should have been someone from the jury.
“The person responsible for receiving the oral request must document the time of receipt in writing or electronically, which will initiate the procedure,” the FIG technical rules state.
FIG did not respond to messages from USA TODAY Sports asking about the identity of that specific individual at the floor exercise final in Paris.
The confusion over the timing has led to conflicting accounts between the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and USA Gymnastics. The Romanians claimed to CAS that the request was made 64 seconds after Chile’s score was displayed, which was four seconds too late. The Americans said they had found new video evidence showing that Landi made the request 47 seconds after the score was displayed, which was less than the allotted time.
What happens next?
According to USA Gymnastics, the CAS stated that it could not reconsider its ruling despite the new evidence. Instead, USAG and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee have announced that they plan to challenge the CAS decision by filing an appeal with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, Switzerland’s highest court.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the CAS stated, among other things: “The CAS confirms that the case cannot be reopened at CAS level once the final decision has been communicated to the parties concerned. The evidence supporting the accuracy of the official date on which the ‘request’ was submitted… was discussed at the hearing and the parties had ample opportunity to present their arguments and objections in this regard. If new evidence emerges after the announcement of the CAS decision (i.e. which was objectively unknown at the time of the CAS hearing), it would be possible to request the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to order the reopening of the case. The CAS would also reopen the case spontaneously if all parties agree.”
Normally, the Swiss Federal Court only intervenes in CAS decisions when obvious procedural issues are involved, so it is unclear what specific arguments the Americans will put forward and whether their efforts will succeed.
It is also initially unclear whether Chiles will keep her medal during the appeal process.
Who has the final decision on whether Chile keeps their bronze medal?
Even days later, not everything is clear. And FIG and IOC are pointing fingers at each other. A FIG spokesperson wrote in an email on Saturday that “the redistribution of medals is the responsibility of the IOC.” Then an IOC spokesperson wrote in an email on Monday that “it is the International Federations (IFs) that determine the results of the competitions” and that “the medal distribution is based on the results.”
In practice, the final decision would likely lie with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court if a formal appeal were lodged there.
What it also means: According to the CAS decision, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation had not specifically asked for Chiles to lose her medal. It asked CAS to place three gymnasts – Chiles, Barbosu and another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea – in third place. (Maneca-Voinea and Barbosu both scored 13.700, but Barbosu won the tiebreaker, which means a higher execution score.)
Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on social media @Tom_Schad.
