Stripped of Glory: The Controversial Bronze Medal Battle of the 2024 Olympics

The 2024 Olympic gymnastics floor exercise final was one of the global tournament’s most controversial and emotionally charged events. At the heart of the controversy was Jordan Chiles, a gymnast from the United States who was stripped of her first Olympic medal. 

By: Charlie Hoang and Aashi Mehrotra 

Aug 5: The Initial Controversy

In the women’s floor exercise final, Romanian gymnasts Sabrina Bǎrbosu and Andreea Meneca-Voinea were initially tied for third place with a score of 13.7. Bǎrbosu held a tiebreaker advantage and started celebrating what seemed to be her triumph, unknowing that it would quickly be followed by heartbreak. Chiles’ final performance, initially awarded her a 13.666, placing her in fifth place. However, suspecting it was underestimated, the USA Gymnastics coach promptly filed an inquiry into Chiles’ difficulty score.

After review, the judges revised Chiles’ score to 13.766, placing her in third and awarding her the bronze medal. This moment was historic, as all podium positions in the Olympic gymnastics floor exercise were now held by Black women, a groundbreaking achievement in Olympic history. The decision, however, set off a chain of events that would soon overshadow the historic win. 

Aug 6: Romanian Federation’s Protest

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation filed a protest with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), claiming that the USA Gymnastics inquiry into Chiles’ score was submitted four seconds too late, thus invalidating the score adjustment—official Olympic rules specify that there is a 1-minute deadline directly after the announcement of the score to submit an inquiry. Initially, the Romanian federation requested that Chiles, Bǎrbosu, and Meneca-Voinea share the bronze medal. However, this proposal was denied by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which oversees Olympic gymnastics.

Instead, FIG decided to strip Chiles of her medal, moving her back to fifth place. Bǎrbosu was reinstated as the bronze medalist, with Meneca-Voinea placed in fourth. This decision, based on an alleged four-second delay, sparked outrage from Chiles’ supporters and USA Gymnastics. 

Aug 10-12: The Court of Arbitration for Sport Decision

Following this, USA Gymnastics decided to fight back, appealing the decision, and submitting new evidence arguing that the inquiry had been submitted within the time limit. The team officially shared that “[they] are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves. [They] remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.” 

USA Gymnastics continued the appeal process in vain, with the CAS later enforcing that “the case cannot be reopened at the CAS level.” 

Aug 16: Bǎrbosu’s Ceremony 

On August 16, Sabrina Bǎrbosu was awarded the bronze medal during a ceremony in Bucharest, Romania. During the ceremony, Bǎrbosu expressed gratitude for the Romanian federation and legal team, saying they had fought for the three athletes to share the medal. Despite her celebration, many gymnastics fans and athletes expressed their disappointment in CAS’s decision, rallying in support of Chiles and the sentiment of sharing the medal. 

Sept 11: Chiles Speaks Out

For weeks, Chiles had remained relatively silent on the matter, barring an Instagram post in mid-August in which she called the decision “devastating” and “unjust.” However, on September 11, she addressed the situation publicly at the 2024 Forbes Power Women’s Summit, sharing her thoughts on the decision that denied her the bronze medal.

Chiles emphasized that beyond the medal, the most painful aspect of the experience was the loss of recognition. She reiterated that the decision was unfair because her routine was worthy of honor and her coaches followed the rules that validated her score. She confessed to the audience that “The biggest thing that was taken from me was…the recognition of who I was — not just my sport, but my person, like the person I am.” She stated that the debacle, additional racist comments, and backlash online dimmed her passion for gymnastics. Despite this, Chiles vowed to continue fighting for justice and to persevere in her gymnastics career. 

Comprehensive Public Response 

Overall, this fiasco was entirely unexpected and the first of its kind. Athletes are normally stripped of their medals due to internal faults (ex. drug usage), and never due to administrative errors. Competitors like Jordan Chiles and Sabrina Bǎrbosu should not suffer emotional trauma because of judges’ inability to score properly and account for all factors, especially at the Olympic level. Considering judges are handpicked by their particular federations to be perfect, this situation proves that room for error is none. Even 0.066 points can make all the difference between going home a champion and going home a casualty. The public’s responses to this situation have consisted largely of condemning the Olympic officials for allowing such a catastrophe to occur in the first place. On all accounts, the score and medal management was reckless, unreasonably obstinate, and avoidably wounding.

Image credit: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters