Jordan Chiles breaks down in tears over Olympic medal controversy: ‘Everything has been stripped’
An emotional Jordan Chiles felt like she had been “left in the dark” amid the fallout of the bronze medal controversy that engulfed the American gymnast’s experience at the Paris Olympics and afterward.
Reflecting on the ordeal Wednesday at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit, Chiles tearfully elaborated on the aftermath of the situation, in which she was bumped from fifth place to third in last month’s floor exercise final due to a Team USA inquiry, sparking a back-and-forth with the Court of Arbitration of Sport and the 23-year-old athlete being stripped of the bronze.
“The biggest thing that was taken from me was that it was the recognition of who I was, not just my sport, but the person I am,” Chiles said. “To me, everything that has gone on, it’s not about the medal, it’s about my skin color. It’s about the fact that there were things that have led up to this position of being an athlete, and I felt like everything has been stripped.”
Competing in her second Olympics, Chiles finished the floor exercise final on Aug. 5 with a score of 13.666.
Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea received scores of 13.700, with the former earning a higher execution score of 8.000.
Due to the score inquiry, Chiles landed on the podium with a score of 13.766, finishing behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (gold) and compatriot Simone Biles (silver).
The Court of Arbitration for Sport later ruled the review from Team USA was submitted beyond the deadline.
Chiles was instructed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to return the medal while Barbosu received a bronze medal in an event following the Games.
The UCLA athlete spoke Wednesday about losing her passion for the sport.
“I felt like when I was back in 2018 where I did lose the love of the sport, I lost it again,” she said. “I just feel like there wasn’t a lot of people supporting me who I thought could support me in that situation, could help me and I didn’t feel like it, I felt like I was really left in the dark.”
Chiles then recalled that time six years ago, when she was “dealing with a coach who emotionally and verbally abused” her and that she “didn’t have the ability to use my voice or be heard.”
“That is one thing that I feel now, in this instance of being in this situation, that I wasn’t able to be heard,” said Chiles, who also won gold in the Paris Olympics as part of the team all-around event.
“… But I made history and I will always continue to make history, and something I rightfully did. I followed the rules, my coach followed the rules… So having been left in the dark is something that I feel like they just took that all away and was trying to just put the name gymnastics in front of it.”
Chiles called the situation “one of the most challenging moments” of her career and vowed in a social media post on Aug. 15 that she “will make every effort to ensure that justice is done.”
