CNN
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Sunday that the bronze medal awarded to American gymnast Jordan Chiles at the Paris Games will be awarded to her Romanian partner Ana Barbosu.
It comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Saturday that the United States’ initial inquiry into Chiles’ scores in Monday’s gymnastics floor final was filed after a one-minute deadline.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Chiles’ original score of 13.666 would be reinstated and Bărbosu’s ranking – with a score of 13.700 – would be improved to third place.
The IOC confirmed that the score change would strip Chile’s bronze and award it to Barbosu.
“Following the CAS decision regarding the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise final and the revision of the International Gymnastics Federation’s rankings, the IOC will re-allocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in a statement.
“We are in contact with Romania’s NOC to discuss with the USOPC regarding the rededication ceremony and the return of the bronze medal.”
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said on Sunday it would appeal the decision.
“We strongly believe that Jordan was rightfully awarded the bronze medal, and that there were critical errors in both the International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) initial scoring and the subsequent CAS appeals process that should be addressed,” the statement said.
“The initial error occurred in the scoring of the FIG, and the second error occurred during the CAS appeals process, where the USOPC was not given sufficient time or notice to effectively challenge the decision. As a result, we were not properly represented or given the opportunity to present our case in detail.
“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles get the recognition he deserves. We remain committed to supporting him as Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter expeditiously and fairly.
USA Gymnastics pointed to its statement on Saturday in which it said it was “devastated” by the ruling.
Monday’s match ended in dramatic fashion. Bărbosu thought she had won the bronze medal after posting a score of 13.700 after Monday’s competition with Chiles’ routine.
Chiles had initially scored 13.666, but her coaches successfully challenged the difficult score, which added 0.1 to her score and moved her up to third behind gold medalist Rebecca Andrade and American Simone Biles.
Their appearance together on the first all-black Olympic gymnastics podium created one of the sports’ most iconic images of the Americans bowing to Andrade.
However, CAS’s ruling that the inquiry submitted on behalf of Chiles was “raised after the one-minute time limit” put Chile’s medal in doubt.
Chiles posted on his Instagram story after the CAS ruling with four heartbreaking emojis and added, “I’m taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.”
CNN’s Issy Ronald, Jacob Lev, Homero De La Fuente and Dan Moriarty contributed to this report.
