Jordan Chiles to be stripped of Olympic bronze medal in gymnastics controversy with Romania: Breaking down what led to this point

American gymnast Jordan Chiles will be stripped of her Olympic bronze medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that an appeal of her final score, submitted by her coach, Cecile Landi, was filed four seconds too late.

Chiles, 23, took home the all-around gold medal with her teammates but also earned a bronze medal for her individual floor exercise competition following Landi's inquiry, which led to a reassessment of her score, bringing Chiles up to third place while pushing Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu down to fourth.

Throughout the week, the gymnast has faced criticism on social media as well as from Romanian officials, including the country’s prime minister, who said he planned to boycott the Olympics closing ceremony over the judges’ ruling.

Late Saturday night, however, the Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) confirmed that Chiles's score would indeed drop from 13.766 to her original score of 13.666, and that Barbosu, who scored 13.700, would return to third.

In a statement released on Sunday, USA Gymnastics said that it submitted a request to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that the ruling be revised, citing video evidence that Landi had indeed submitted the appeal within the one-minute deadline.

The next day, USA Gymnastics stated that the court denied the request, stating that their rules "do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered" once a decision is made. It added that they’re pursuing “every possible avenue and appeal process” to ensure the “just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan” — a message they reiterated on Tuesday morning. Here’s how everything unfolded.

How did Chiles win her bronze medal?

Chiles competed in the individual floor exercise competition on Aug. 5. Initially, she earned a score of 13.666, which placed her fifth. However, Landi filed an inquiry concerning the level of her difficulty score. The inquiry was successful, and Chiles’s score was increased, resulting in her placing third and earning a bronze medal. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won gold, and American Simone Biles won silver.

Barbosu scored 13.700 and assumed she had secured the bronze, but with the 0.1 boost in her score, Chiles made the podium with a score of 13.766, leaving the Romanian gymnast without a medal.

Landi’s inquiry noted that a jump in Chiles’s floor routine was given a lower difficulty grade than it should have been given. Though Chiles did not complete a leap element in her performance, due to the difficulty of the routine, her score was increased. When the score was corrected per the coach’s request, Chiles’s score was recalculated, and she was bumped up into third place past Barbosu and another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who also scored a 13.700 but had a lower execution score.

“There were so many emotions going through my body in that moment,” Chiles said on the Today show on Aug. 8. “There was a lot of things happening to me — not being on the podium to me being on the podium. I think the biggest thing is just always understanding not to doubt yourself and just let everything ride out how it’s supposed to be.”

The inquiry for Chiles meant that Barbosu didn’t make the podium for the event. However, for more than a minute, Barbosu assumed she had won third and even wrapped herself in the Romanian flag to run across the stage. When the inquiry changed Chiles’s score, Barbosu was seen crying.

Former gymnast Julia Konner, author of Perfect Balance: A Young Athlete's Guide to the World of Gymnastics, told Women’s Health that inquiries are common in the sport, as the gymnast and coach cannot see the judges' scoring notes.

"It is difficult to know what the deductions were for exactly, beyond the obvious ones of going out of bounds, landings and form," Konner said. "Additionally, a verbal, then written, inquiry has to be placed after the gymnast's final score has been posted but before the next gymnast competes, so there is a time-crunch aspect as well."

There was immediate backlash from Romanian officials. In a Facebook post, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he would boycott the Olympics closing ceremony due to the score change, calling what happened a “scandalous situation.”

Former Romanian gymnast Nadia Comanici took to X to express her disappointment, writing, “I can’t believe we play with athletes' mental health and emotions like this.” She also shared a video of Maneca-Voinea, who was given a 0.1 deduction for stepping out of bounds, writing, “I don’t see the heel touching down ... do you?”

Landi defended her choice to make the inquiry. In the comments section of an Aug. 6 Instagram post, she wrote, “Jordan won this medal and didn’t steal anything from anyone. Do I feel bad for the Romanian athlete? Of course I do! It was so sad and heartbreaking to see but it is the sport!”

Following the awards ceremony, the Team USA coach told press she submitted the inquiry because “at this point, we had nothing to lose, so I was like, ‘We’re just going to try.’ … I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen, but when I heard her scream, I turned around and was, like, ‘What?’”

Following two appeals, Chiles's score was reinstated

On Aug. 10, CAS ruled — following an appeal from Romania — that Chiles's inquiry came after the required time frame of one minute, since it was submitted one minute and four seconds after her routine — and therefore voided the inquiry. CAS wrote that Chiles’s initial score of 13.666 should be restored.

Then late Saturday night, the FIG confirmed the CAS ruling would return to its original decision — placing Barbosu in third place.

"The ranking of the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Finals has been modified accordingly with Ana Barbosu (ROU) ranking third with a score of 13.700," the FIG said on its website.

Team USA responded: ‘We are devastated’

Before the FIG had finalized its decision to amend Chiles's score, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee released a joint statement regarding Chiles being potentially stripped of her medal.

"We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise," they said on Saturday. "The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’s floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring."

The statement said that “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."

Chiles will now be stripped of her bronze medal

On Sunday morning, the International Olympic Committee stated it would "reallocate" the bronze model to Barbosu, and that it is finalizing details of the process.

"We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze model," the IOC said in an email, according to reporters.

In a post to her Instagram Stories on Saturday, Chiles shared several broken heart emojis. She later posted, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health. Thank you.”

Request for revision

On Sunday morning, USA Gymnastics shared that it formally submitted a request to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that the ruling be revised, citing video evidence showing that Landi had indeed submitted the appeal 47 seconds after judges published the score. That would fall under the one-minute deadline.

However, they were informed on Monday that the court denied their submission.

As of Monday morning, Chiles has yet to comment on the situation.