One of the largest storylines of the Olympics' final week actually stemmed from the first week of competition, as USA Gymnastics battles to retain the Olympic bronze medal won by Jordan Chiles in the individual floor final.
Chiles was awarded bronze after an inquiry from her coaches successfully challenged her original difficulty score, adding a crucial 0.1 to her tally to place her third over Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu.
How did Jordan Chiles lose her bronze medal?
After the final, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the initial inquiry — the one that resulted in the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) changing Chiles's score — was submitted four seconds after the one-minute deadline. The ruling dictated that Chiles's original score of 13.666 be reinstated, elevating Barbosu to third place and stripping Chiles of her bronze medal.
Truth be told, the move is a drastic measure usually reserved for doping or cheating allegations. It's incredibly rare to force an athlete to return an Olympic medal due to a scoring mistake.
USA Gymnastics submits evidence to refute Romanian appeal
USA Gymnastics is not backing down, stating on Sunday that they had submitted photo and video evidence proving that the team made the inquiry within the allotted time period.
"The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it," the Federation wrote.
"The initial error occurred in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision."
While both athletes might be happy to share a bronze, USA Gymnastics is now engaged in an appeal battle with a number of governing nations to preserve Chiles's accomplishment.
"We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly," concluded USAG.
