USA Gymnastics said Monday it can prove that a coach's appeal that put gymnast Jordan Chiles on the podium for a bronze medal in Paris was by the book, but the effort may be futile because the governing court said its rules don't allow for reconsideration in this case.
USA Gymnastics, the governing body for the sport in the U.S., indicated through a statement that it will be difficult to press for a different outcome after the Court of Arbitration for Sport, or CAS, found that the inquiry that led to Chiles’ elevation from fifth in floor exercise to third was invalid because it was submitted four seconds too late.
On Sunday, USA Gymnastics had said that it formally submitted a letter and video evidence to CAS that proves Chiles’ coach filed an appeal, known as an inquiry, within the one-minute deadline and thus Chiles’ updated, bronze-medal score should stand.
However, Monday’s statement calls into question whether Chiles can keep her medal, which the International Olympic Committee said she must return, upholding the CAS ruling.
“USA Gymnastics was notified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday that their rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented,” USA Gymnastics said in its statement. “We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan.”
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee had said it would try to do what it could so Chiles could keep her medal and ranking.
Chiles, who performed last in the floor exercise, eventually was awarded a bronze medal after she initially got a score of 13.666, which placed her fifth and tentatively resulted in bronze for Romania’s Ana Bărbosu.
But Chiles' coach, Cecile Landi, filed an inquiry, which was accepted and resulted in an elevated score of 13.766, allowing Chiles to leapfrog Bărbosu for bronze.
The Romanian Gymnastics Federation and Bărbosu subsequently filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, arguing the inquiry was too late.
The court agreed, saying that such inquiries must be filed within a one-minute deadline and that Landi's inquiry was four seconds late, according to the International Olympic Committee.
