Romania's Ana Barbosu speaks out after Olympic bronze medal stripped from USA's Jordan Chiles
Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu has publicly commented on the recent decision to strip American gymnast Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal in the floor exercise event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Chiles is required to return the medal to Barbosu.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Saturday, Aug. 10 said that the inquiry to increase Chiles' score in the floor exercise was not valid, saying that it came past the one-minute deadline.
Barbosu shared her thoughts on Instagram Stories about the recent ruling. She noted that Chiles and her fellow teammate will "come back stronger," while hoping to see them on the same podium in the future.
"Sabrina [Maneca-Voinea], Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling, because I've been through the same. But I know you'll come back stronger," Barbosu began.
"I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share [the] same podium. This is my true dream!" she continued.
The 18-year-old athlete said that the "situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation," hence, they do not deserve the "hate" from other people.
"This situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation. We, athletes, are not to be blamed, and the hate directed to us is painful."
She concluded, "I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world."
During the Aug. 5 floor exercise final, Chiles initially secured the fifth position based on the judges' scoring, earning a score of 13.666. Meanwhile, her two Romanian competitors, Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea clinched the third and fourth positions with scores of 13.700.
Following Chiles' performance, her coach formally contested the decision, asserting that the difficulty score assigned to her routine did not accurately reflect its complexity. After reviewing the coach's appeal, the judges from the CAS concurred and consequently revised Chiles' score.
This adjustment propelled her to third place overall, overtaking Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea in the rankings.
The ruling
Following a ruling on Saturday, August 10, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) declared Barbosu the bronze medalist in the floor exercise event.
It said the "American's inquiry came outside the allotted time and is therefore invalid, reverting her score to 13.666."
"The inquiry submitted on behalf of Ms. Jordan Chiles in the Final of the women's Floor exercise was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline provided by article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations and is determined to be without effect," the decision read.
However, USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee also issued a joint statement, stating that "inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles' floor exercise routine was filed in good faith" and "in accordance with FIG rules."
The team also urged an immediate halt to the stream of hateful messages directed at Chiles following the ruling.
"Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her," they added.
The 23-year-old American athlete on her Instagram stories said that she is "taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health."
Meanwhile, Brazil's Rebeca Andrade took home the gold, while USA's Simone Biles bagged the silver medal.