The 2024 Paris Olympics Artistic Gymnastics team finals saw team USA take gold, Italy take silver, and Brazil take bronze. All-Around results saw USA’s Simone Biles place first, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade place second, and USA’s Sunisa Lee, the Tokyo Olympics’ all-around champion, place third. Balance Beam results shocked mainstream media as popular contenders such as Biles and Lee took falls resulting in Italy’s Alice D’Amato and Manila Esposito receiving gold and bronze, respectively, and China’s Qui Qiyuan receiving silver. The unexpected Balance Beam placings, however, paled in comparison to the podium fiasco that ensued following the Floor Exercise finals.
The original standings placed Andrade, in gold (14.166), Biles in silver (14.133), and Romania’s Ana Bărbosu in bronze (13.700). Bărbosu’s teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea tied for bronze (13.700) but was bumped to fourth place due to her lower execution score—a gymnast’s score is a combination of the difficulty value of their routine and how well they execute it—and USA’s Jordan Chiles secured fifth place (13.666).
When Chiles’ score was released, Bărbosu took to the floor with the Romanian flag to celebrate grabbing a piece of the podium for her country. Team USA coach, Cecile Landi, went to the judges to question the score. Landi submitted an appeal to re-evaluate the scoring on a certain element in Chiles’ routine, the Gogean, and it fell in her favor. The appeal was accepted, bumping Chiles into third (13.766) and removing Bărbosu from the podium.
In the following days, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) under the premise that International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) guidelines were violated. Coaches may make inquiries on a score within one minute of its release. No alterations are allowed after that deadline and Landi was four seconds too late in her inquiry.
They also argued for the restoration of a deduction Maneca-Voinea received for stepping out of bounds in her routine after video evidence seemed to reveal that Maneca-Voinea remained in bounds at the moment in question. The restoration would have bumped the gymnast up to bronze regardless of the outcome of Chiles’ score. On August 11, the CAS ruled in favor of reversing the re-evaluation of Chiles’ score. However, Maneca-Voinea’s score was to remain as it was.
The next day, video evidence of Landi inquiring about Chiles’ score within the one-minute mark was uncovered. USA Gymnastics, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Chiles requested the new evidence be considered, but the CAS refused. Their guidelines do not allow rulings regarding arbitral awards to be reconsidered. FIG respected the ruling and returned Bărbosu to the podium. The International Olympic Committee ordered the return of Chiles’ medal, but the battle for bronze blazed on.
On September 16, USA Gymnastics, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Chiles appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, which has on occasion, overruled a CAS decision. Chiles said the basis of the appeal was that they had been notified beforehand of the CAS hearing with little time to prepare. Despite the CAS being in contact with the USOPC days prior, they communicated the details of the hearing to the incorrect email address. The defendants were not aware of the case until the day before the hearing.
They were not aware that a potential conflict of interest was involved in the hearing either: President of the CAS panel Hamid Gharavi’s history of representing the Romanian government in financial affairs. Also noted, is that the CAS did not give a public statement until August 14, which raised suspicions about when the ruling was finalized and whether or not the court unjustly ignored the new evidence. The defendants requested that the Swiss Federal Tribunal dismiss the ruling.
One week later, they made a second appeal, altering their request of the Swiss Federal Tribunal. The defendants requested the tribunal order the reopening of the CAS case to allow the new video evidence to be properly considered. As it stands now, Bărbosu remains in third, Maneca-Voinea in fourth, and Chiles in fifth. Chiles’ second appeal has yet to be decided.
