Jordan Chiles Appeals Olympic Medal Decision to Swiss Court: 'Fundamental Unfairness'

Jordan Chiles doesn’t give up.

On Monday, September 16, lawyers for the Olympic gold medalist, 23, filed an appeal on Chiles’ behalf with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that stripped the athlete of her bronze medal in women’s floor gymnastics after the Olympics in Paris 2024, according to the press release. Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu won the bronze medal.

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“CAS violated Chiles’ fundamental ‘right to be heard’ by refusing to consider video evidence that showed her inquiry was filed on time — in direct contradiction to the findings in the CAS decision,” her lawyers said in a press release.

Jordan Chiles of Team USA, Paris 2024 Olympics.

Tom Weller/VOIGT/Getty

Chiles’ attorneys contend that Chiles was never properly informed that CAS President Hamid G. Gharavi had a “serious conflict of interest,” according to a press release. Gharavi had acted as Romania’s adviser for nearly a decade and was actively representing Romania at the time of the incident, Chiles’ lawyers said.

“Jordan Chiles’ appeals present the international community with an easy legal question — will everyone stand by while an Olympic athlete who did the right thing is stripped of her medal due to fundamental unfairness in an ad hoc arbitration process? The answer to that question should be no. Every part of the Olympic Games, including the arbitration process, should strive for fair play,” said Maurice M. Suh, counsel for Chile.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has filed a letter of support for Chiles’ appeal, her lawyers said in a press release.

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USA Gymnastics announced its support for Chiles’ appeal in a statement Monday.

“USA Gymnastics supports the appeal filed today by Jordan Chiles in Swiss federal court as we have made a collective, strategic decision to have Jordan conduct the initial proceedings,” the statement said. “USAG is working closely with Jordan and her legal team and will support the court in continuing to seek justice for Jordan.”

Jordan Chiles of Team United States; Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

Jamie Squire/Getty

Chiles, who won a gold medal as a member of Team USA on July 30 in the women’s team all-around, competed in the individual floor event on August 5. First, Chiles finished fifth, but her coach filed a penalty appeal for a scoring error. After the Romanian gymnasts filed a complaint with CAS, the International Olympic Committee ordered Chiles to return the bronze medal on August 11.

CAS claimed the gymnast’s coach was four seconds late when he asked to correct her score from 13.766 to 13.666. Chiles contested this finding, “even submitting a video that unequivocally proves that the inquiry was filed on time,” her lawyers said in a statement.

Chiles shared a statement on her Instagram account on August 15, breaking her silence after she was stripped of her bronze medal amid complaints to the Olympic Committees.

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“While I was celebrating my Olympic achievements, I heard the devastating news that my bronze medal was taken away,” the gymnast began.

Chiles said she had “confidence in the appeal filed by USAG, which provided convincing evidence that my score followed all the rules.” But in the end, “this appeal was unsuccessful.”

“I am at a loss for words. This decision seems unfair and comes as a significant blow, not only to me, but to everyone who advocated for my journey,” Chiles said in part.

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Source: HIS Education