US Gymnast Jordan Chiles Reveals Emotional Impact of Olympic Medal Controversy

 

On Wednesday, an emotional Chiles discussed how the dispute surrounding her medal affected her deeply. The issue arose when the Romanian gymnastics team contested the revision of her final score, leading to a review by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). CAS ultimately upheld the challenge, resulting in Chiles losing her bronze medal to Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu.

Chiles shared her distress at Forbes’ Power Women’s Summit, explaining that the controversy was more than just a loss of a medal. “The biggest thing that was taken from me was the recognition of who I was. Not just my sport, but the person I am,” she said, visibly moved. The audience responded with applause as she gathered her thoughts.

She emphasized that the controversy felt like an attack on more than just her athletic achievements, touching on deeper issues such as race and personal struggle. “To me, everything that has gone on, it’s not about the medal. It’s about my skin color. It’s about the things that have led up to this position of being an athlete. I felt like everything was stripped away from me,” Chiles reflected. She compared her current feelings to a past experience in 2018 when she lost her love for the sport due to an abusive coach.

Chiles has previously shared her experience with an abusive coach but has not named them. She described the impact on her mental health and the difficulties she faced, including derogatory comments about her appearance that triggered deep emotional pain. “She called me fat. She said I looked like a donut. And when people would comment on what I was eating, it was like, ‘I’m not eating because you just triggered my brain.’ It was really hard on me,” Chiles revealed on the “Peace of Mind with Taraji” show in 2021.

The dispute over Chiles’ medal began when her bronze was awarded following a successful challenge to her initial score, which had placed her fifth. This historic win was notable for having all three podium positions occupied by Black women. Chiles and silver medalist Simone Biles even performed a celebratory bow to gold medalist Rebeca Andrade from Brazil, a moment captured in a memorable photograph.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation’s challenge claimed that the US team’s appeal was filed just after the allowed one-minute deadline. CAS decided in favor of the Romanian challenge, reallocating the bronze medal to Bǎrbosu.

The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and USA Gymnastics (USAG) have announced plans to appeal the decision, citing issues with CAS’s communication. They also expressed concerns about the appointment of Dr. Hamid G. Gharavi to the CAS panel, who has previously represented Romania in arbitration cases. USAG alleges they were not informed of Gharavi’s ties to Romania, though CAS maintains that no objections were raised regarding his appointment.