Jordan Chiles' Reaction To Revoked Bronze Medal Is Heartbreaking

Despite walking away from the women's gymnastics floor final with a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics — her first in an individual event — Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles' win has since been revoked, bumping the competitor to fifth place after reinstating the judges' initial scores, according to ESPN. And as one might imagine, Chiles, her family, and her teammates are distraught over the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) decision.

After Chiles performed her floor routine during the finals on August 5, Team USA coach Cecile Landi appealed the judges' score noting that Chiles had been underscored, according to NPR. Agreeing that they'd miscalculated her difficulty score, the judges boosted Chiles' 13.666 by 0.1, placing her ahead of her Romanian competitors, Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, and lifting her into third place. Chiles' glory was short-lived, however, as the Romanian team contested Team USA's inquiry the next day in an effort to reinstate Barbosu as the rightful medal-winner with the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). On August 10, CAS then decided to void Team USA's appeal, claiming Landi submitted the inquiry 1 minute and 4 seconds after Chiles completed her routine — 4 seconds too late.

While the Romanian contenders reportedly requested to have all three women ranked third so they could share the bronze medal honor, CAS seemingly denied said request. According to The Washington Post, the International Olympic Committee confirmed that Chiles will be required to return her medal. In the meantime, the gymnast has opted to lay low.

In the wake of the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to revoke her third place standing, Jordan Chiles opted to take some time away from the ridicule she's faced on social media. On August 10, shortly after the ruling was handed down, Chiles took to her Instagram Stories, writing, "I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you."

Chiles' sister, Jazmin, also took to Instagram Stories to defend her sister and call out the racist backlash against Chiles. "Racism is real, it exists, it is alive and well," Jazmin wrote. "They have officially, 5 days later, stripped her of one of her medals. Not because she didn't win, not because she was drugged, not because she stepped out of bounds. Not because she wasn't good enough. But because the judges failed to give her difficulty and forced an inquiry to be made." Chiles' mother Gina took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to call out the racist attacks, too. "My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched...and she's being called disgusting things," Gina wrote.

Even USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee issued a joint statement condemning the racist rhetoric regarding Chiles. "No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her," they posted on X. And Chiles' teammates have their fellow Golden Girls' back, too.

Jordan Chiles' 2024 Team USA Women's Gymnastics teammates all made their voices heard after the Olympian's bronze medal was revoked. Hezly Rivera took to Instagram Stories to write, "Love you @jordanchiles and will always support you!!!" And Chiles' fellow floor final medal-winner Simone Biles wrote, "Sending you so much love Jordan. Keep your chin up Olympic champ! We love you!" But it was Jade Carey and Suni Lee who specifically called out the judges who failed to score Chiles and her Romanian competitors correctly in the first place. 

"Don't punish the athlete for someone else's mistake," Carey wrote on Instagram Stories. "With you all the way Jo. You are forever an Olympic champion that has so much to be proud of." Lee echoed the sentiment, writing, "All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges? Completely unacceptable. This is awful and I'm gutted for Jordan. I got your back forever Jo. U have all my flowers and you will ALWAYS be an Olympic champion." Chiles' sister, Jazmin, also emphasized the discrepancy, noting that, had the judges not failed to score the gymnasts properly in the first place, there never would've been need for an inquiry. 

"FOUR SECONDS," Jazmin wrote on Instagram Stories. "Her bronze was stripped over 4 seconds of time that would have never needed to happen if the judges did their job." In a separate Story, Jazmin added, "In the HISTORY of the Olympics NO ONE has ever been stripped of their medal for this." No matter what happens to Chiles' medal, there's no question that she won gold when it comes to supportive friends and family.