Sept 25, V7N -U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles is continuing her legal battle to reclaim the bronze medal she was initially awarded at the Paris Olympics in the floor exercise final. Last month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of Romanian gymnast Ana Maria Barbosu, resulting in Chiles being stripped of the medal, which was re-awarded to Barbosu. The Romanian team had successfully appealed on the grounds that the U.S. inquiry regarding the floor exercise results was submitted four seconds past the one-minute deadline set by the International Gymnastics Federation.
Chiles was originally promoted from fifth to third place after her score was revised from 13.666 to 13.766 following the U.S. team’s inquiry. However, after the Romanian appeal, her score was downgraded, and she dropped back to fifth place, behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles.
Chiles has since appealed the CAS decision to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, with her legal team arguing that video and audio evidence, recorded as part of a Netflix documentary about Biles, proves she followed the rules. This evidence was not previously considered by CAS.
Chiles’ lawyer, Maurice Suh of Gibson Dunn, emphasized the importance of this evidence: "We believe that CAS must consider the complete audio and video record that shows that Jordan without doubt followed all the rules on the floor and in her inquiry." He added that failing to do so would be "fundamentally unfair and unjust."
A decision from the Swiss court is expected within the next four to six months. Chiles has expressed gratitude for the support she has received as she seeks a just resolution to her case.
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