CAS blames gymnastics officials for Jordan Chiles controversy, USOPC rips panel’s detailed release

Twists, turns and flips are usually left to the gymnasts at the Olympics and not the officials dealing with sorting out whether one or three athletes receives the bronze medal.

On Wednesday night, the Center of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) fired off sharp words about the Paris Olympic floor exercise debacle.

The CAS said the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) failed American Jordan Chiles and Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea and its hands were tied in awarding medals.

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“If the FIG had put such a mechanism or arrangement in place, a great deal of heartache would have been avoided,” the CAS’ ad-hoc panel said in a release. “The Panel expresses the hope that the FIG will draw the consequences of this case, in relation to these three extraordinary Athletes and also for other Athletes and their supporting personnel, in the future, so that this never happens again.”

Jordan Chiles of the United States in action at the Paris Olympics. (REUTERS/Hannah Mckay)

While the Romanian Gymnastics Federation has called for all three gymnasts to receive a bronze medal, the CAS said its hands were tied by FIG rules and could not have made that decision.

“The Panel finds that the Applicants failed to demonstrate the application of the ‘fair play principle’ in support of the relief sought. Admitting such a request would, as set out by the IOC at the Hearing, require the Panel to apply principles of equity, whereas the Panel is required to apply rules of law, unless the Parties have agreed otherwise, which in this case they have not.

“Therefore, it remains that the allocation of three bronze medals in this Event would be impossible with the strict application of the FIG Rules save if the Parties for a consent award to this effect, which FIG opposes.”

The CAS said it upheld its decision to reinstate Chiles’ 13.666, and Barbosu would be moved up to third place.

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Jordan Chiles of the United States poses for a photo with her gold and bronze medals after day three of the gymnastics event finals during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris on Aug. 5, 2024. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

“The Panel would simply point out that its task is to rule on the law and the evidence before it, and in this case both are crystal clear in relation to the one-minute rule and its application to the circumstances of this case,” the ruling said. “It is not the function of the Panel to apply principles of equity, or to attribute medals, or to determine that there should be multiple recipients of the bronze medal, as some of the Parties have proposed. 

“If the Panel had been in a position to apply equitable principles, it would surely have attributed a bronze medal to all three gymnasts in view of their performance, good faith and the injustice and pain to which they have been subjected, in circumstances in which the FIG did not provide a mechanism or arrangement to implement the one minute rule it established under Article 8.5. 

“If the FIG had put such a mechanism or arrangement in place, a great deal of heartache would have been avoided. The Panel expresses the hope that the FIG will draw the consequences of this case, in relation to these three extraordinary Athletes and also for other Athletes and their supporting personnel, in the future, so that this never happens again.”

USA Gymnastics fired back at the panel in a statement to USA Today, stating their disagreement with the release.

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“USA Gymnastics strongly disagrees with the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s detailed decision released today,” the organization said. “As noted in the decision, USA Gymnastics did not become aware of the case until August 9 – three days after it was filed, two days past the deadline to submit objections related to panelists, and less than 24 hours before the hearing. This was due to CAS sending case filings to incorrect email addresses.

Jordan Chiles of the United States celebrates her bronze medal on the floor exercise on day three of the gymnastics event finals during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris on Aug. 5, 2024. (Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports)

“Further, CAS did not send the conflict-of-interest disclosures of any panelist to USA Gymnastics, nor have we seen the disclosures to date. As stated previously, video evidence later made available to USA Gymnastics and submitted to CAS conclusively establishes that Head Coach Cecile Landi verbally inquired 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, within the 1-minute deadline required by FIG rule.

“We will pursue these and other matters upon appeal as we continue to seek justice for Jordan Chiles.”

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The Romanian Gymnastics Federation said it was planning to award Barbosu the bronze medal.

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