American gymnast Jordan Chiles earned an appeal in her effort to reclaim the floor exercise bronze medal that was stripped of her at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Swiss Supreme Court said on Thursday its judges had referred the “completely exceptional circumstances” of the bronze medal awarded in the women’s floor exercise to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to consider new evidence.
The outcome of an event that spawned a famous Olympic photo featuring the Chilean women, floor exercise silver medalist Simone Biles and Brazilian gold medalist Rebeca Andrade – all women of color – rests on mere seconds: Can the U.S. team prove that it made a timely appeal in the Olympic arena on behalf of the Chileans?
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The decision by Swiss federal judges – highly unusual in cases of this nature – suggests that Chiles could regain the bronze medal she originally earned in Paris after disputing her score.
Chiles’ third-place finish was overturned a few days later on appeal by the Romanian team before the Olympic CAS tribunal in Paris. The medal was awarded the following week in Bucharest to Ana Maria Barbosu.
Chiles said at the time that the decision seemed “unfair and a major blow, not only to me, but to everyone who defended my trip.”
The federal court wants CAS to review a recording that could show the original U.S. challenge to the adjudicated score occurred within a minute on the playing field.
“In the entirely exceptional circumstances of the case in question,” the Swiss Federal Court said in a statement, “it considers it likely that the audiovisual recording of the final on August 5, 2024 will lead to a modification of the contested award in favor of the applicant (Chile).”
The CAS said in a statement on Thursday that it “can now ensure a thorough judicial review of the new evidence that has since become available.”
CAS and the Swiss Supreme Court, headquartered in Lausanne, considered the Olympic capital, gave no timetable for the review. It will likely take at least a year to prepare and process before a verdict is ready.
Still, the federal court’s decision gave Chiles hope of keeping her medal and putting the controversy behind her.
“We are delighted that the Swiss Federal Court has righted a wrong and given Jordan the chance it deserves to regain its bronze medal,” Maurice M. Suh, a member of the legal team representing Chile, said in a statement. “As the Court recognized, there is ‘conclusive’ video evidence that Jordan was the rightful winner of the bronze medal.”
Suh added that Chiles “will fight vigorously” and that she is grateful to have “a full and fair opportunity to defend her bronze medal.”
USA Gymnastics praised the court for recognizing “the flaws in the original process and the fact that Jordan’s case can now be heard with all relevant evidence included.”
“USA Gymnastics will continue to support Jordan and her team’s efforts to retain her bronze medal in the women’s floor exercise at the 2024 Olympic Games,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement. “We look forward to a fair arbitration that will include clear evidence proving that the investigation into Jordan’s score was filed within one minute, as required by the FIG rules.”
Chiles, now 24, moved on with her life after facing significant reaction online – some of them racially tinged – immediately afterwards.
She returned to compete collegiately at UCLA while building on her burgeoning celebrity, competing in the reality competition “Dancing With the Stars,” posing for Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, and is currently featured in an advertisement for a women’s sportswear line that also includes tennis icon Serena Williams and track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson.
