This tale of the tape could prove beneficial in Jordan Chiles’ Olympic medal fight.
Footage from Simone Biles’ Netflix documentary, “Simone Biles: Rising,” is a component of the American gymnast’s appeal for the bronze medal Chiles received at the Paris Games and was subsequently stripped of, USA Today reported Monday citing court docs.
Chiles, 23, originally received a score of 13.666 in the floor exercise final on Aug. 5, but an inquiry made about her score by Team USA within the 60-second deadline elevated her to third place with a new score of 13.766.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport later ruled the inquiry arrived outside the 60-second window, but footage in the Biles program features audio of Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, stating, “Inquiry for Jordan!” 49 seconds after the score was revealed, per USA Today.
Docuseries director Katie Walsh had multiple cameras stationed inside Bercy Arena, where the gymnastics competition at the Paris Olympics took place, and had audio access from Landi, the court documents indicated.
She shared the footage with Landi, which was later passed to Team USA Gymnastics and the Olympic and Paralympic Committee, according to the report.
The International Olympic Committee announced days after the floor exercise final that Chiles needed to return the medal.
Chiles, a two-time Olympian, called the controversy “one of the most challenging moments of my career.”
“Believe me when I say I had had many. I will approach this challenge as I have others — and I will make every effort to ensure that justice is done,” she posted on social media last month. “I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing.”
Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu has since received a bronze medal after posting a score of 13.700 in the event. Compatriot Sabrina Maneca-Voinea placed fourth with the same score as Barbosu, who earned higher marks in the execution.
Chiles officially filed an appeal in the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland on Monday.
In a press release, it’s alleged the Court of Arbitration for Sport “violated Chiles’s fundamental ‘right to be heard’ by refusing to consider the video evidence that showed her inquiry was submitted on time — in direct contradiction to the findings in CAS’s decision,” and that Chiles “was not properly informed that Hamid G. Gharavi, the President of the CAS panel that revoked Chiles’s bronze medal and awarded it instead to a Romanian gymnast, had a serious conflict of interest.”
Gharavi has represented Romania in legal matters.
Chiles tearfully recounted the ordeal last week at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit, stating how she felt she had been “left in the dark” amid the fallout.
