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U.S. Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles opened up about her thoughts on whether racism was a factor in the decision that led to her bronze medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics being rescinded.
During an interview on the “Baby, this is Keke Palmer” podcast, Chiles was asked if she “accepted” that she had “experienced racism” after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned a score change that placed Chiles third on the women’s floor exercise medal podium, and knocking her down to fifth place.
“At first, I didn’t think of it in that way until I started almost literally getting racist comments and saying this and saying that and basically telling like people were telling me to kill myself and it got to a really, really tough point,” Chiles said in response.
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Chiles was awarded third on the first ever women’s gymnastics Olympic podium that included three Black medalists, alongside U.S. teammate Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. Chiles now says that the “all-Black” podium was something that “people don’t like.”
Simone Biles (silver), Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (gold) and US’ Jordan Chiles (bronze) show sportsmanship during the podium ceremony for the artistic gymnastics women’s floor exercise event of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris, on Aug. 5, 2024. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)
“I had to get off of social media for a while. Because it was, you know, it was really hard to even see that, as an athlete, like, let alone an athlete, I’m up, there, yes, it’s an ‘all-Black’ podium, which is very rare, it’s obviously something that people don’t like.
“As being a woman of color, I started seeing it more. They didn’t want to see that, they didn’t want to see three beautiful Black women standing on that podium. They didn’t want to see the fact that we were just dominating. And I really took that to heart.”
Romania’s Ana Barbosu initially finished with a higher score than Chiles once the American finished her routine.
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At the end of the floor exercise final at the summer games in August, Barbosu clinched third place and a spot on the podium after judging initially finished. Barbosu was visibly thrilled when she saw the final scores.
But then, a U.S. coach spoke to the judges and appealed the scoring on one of Chiles’ moves. After review, Chiles’ score was bumped up, putting the American in third place, and leaving Barbosu off the podium. When Barbosu looked up and saw the scoring change on the board, she dropped the Romanian flag she was holding, covered her face with her hands and walked away in tears.
Ana Barbosu of Romania walks into the arena before the floor final on day ten of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Chiles went on to accept the bronze medal and join Biles and Andrade on the podium.
Then, on the last day of the Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the Chiles appeal was submitted past the one-minute deadline, and changed her score to drop her back into fifth place. The next day, on Aug. 11, 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) determined that Chiles must return the medal.
Chiles previously claimed she was facing “racially driven attacks” from social media users in a statement posted to X.
In her first sit-down interview after the incident occurred, she made similar comments.
“To me, everything that has gone on is not about the medal, it’s about, you know, my skin color,” Chiles said in a September 2024 interview during a panel at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit.
The controversy brought international scrutiny upon the judges who scored the event. CAS and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) released a joint statement condemning the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the judging crew for the outcome.
“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.”
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Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles of Team United States pose with their Paris 2024 Olympic medals following the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Floor Exercise Final on day ten of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. Chiles’ medal was later stripped (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Chiles and Team USA are currently involved in an appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for its decision.
Chiles’ lawyers have argued that her coach did in fact make the request in time and that there is video evidence to prove it, and have also indicated that the official who made the decision to strip Chiles’ medal had ties to Romania.
Chiles has also filed an appeal in the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to overturn the CAS decision. She argued that she was not given a fair opportunity to defend herself and that the CAS did not properly consider video evidence.
Barbosu received her bronze medal shortly after the Olympics ended, and expressed sympathy for her American opponent, as well as a Romanian teammate, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, whose finish was also impacted by the back-and-forth scoring change.
“I can’t help but think about Sabrina and Jordan right now,” Barbosu said in a statement. “It’s a difficult situation for us, with so many uncertainties and overwhelming emotions. I hope everyone understands that we have not done anything wrong at the Olympics. And that the Olympic spirit is more important than any misunderstanding between the authorities.
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Barbosu is currently competing in women’s gymnastics at Stanford, while Chiles is competing at UCLA. The two programs are set to face off on March 7.
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