Romanian gymnast could replace Jordan Chiles as bronze medalist in floor exercise after court ruling

PARIS (AP) — The Court of Arbitration for Sport voided the inquiry that led to Olympic bronze on the floor exercise for American gymnast Jordan Chiles, opening the door for Romania’s Ana Barbosu to replace Chiles as bronze medalist.

CAS ruled Saturday that the appeal by U.S. coach Cecile Landi to have .1 added to Chiles’ score that vaulted Chiles from fifth to third came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

CAS wrote in its decision that the initial finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision,” but left it to FIG to decide who would get the medal behind gold winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the U.S.

FIG did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press seeking clarity on the outcome. The Romanian Olympic Committee had asked for three bronze medals to be awarded.

Chiles hinted at the decision in the stories section of her Instagram page on Saturday, indicating she is heartbroken and she is “taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.”

Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea were left outside the medals in Monday’s floor final after finishing with matching scores of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker — a higher execution score — and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.

Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially was given a score of 13.666 that put her in fifth place, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an inquiry on her score, saying at the time that there was nothing to lose.

After a review, judges boosted Chiles’ total by 0.1. That was enough to leapfrog Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for the last spot on the podium.

USA Gymnastics said in a statement it is “devastated” by the ruling.

“The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the organization wrote.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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