What looked like a closed chapter in Jordan Chiles’ Olympic journey is suddenly back on the table.
The Team USA gymnast may ultimately be allowed to keep her Paris 2024 bronze medal after the Swiss Federal Supreme Court acknowledged issues in the way her case was originally handled. On Thursday, January 29, USA Gymnastics confirmed that the court granted part of Chiles’ appeal, reopening the door on a medal that was taken from her months earlier.
Chiles was stripped of the bronze in August 2024 following a dispute tied to her floor exercise final. At the center of the controversy was a score inquiry submitted by her coach, Cecile Canqueteau-Landi, which pushed Chiles into third place. Romania later challenged that inquiry, claiming it was submitted after the one-minute deadline. The Court of Arbitration for Sport agreed, leading the IOC and FIG to reassign the medal to Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu.
Now, Switzerland’s top court says there is reason to reconsider.
“In the highly exceptional circumstances of the case in question, it considers that there is a likelihood for the audio-visual recording of the final on 5 August 2024 to lead to a modification of the contested award in favour of the applicants,” the Swiss Federal Tribunal said in a statement issued Friday, Jan. 23. The court noted that CAS could determine “that the verbal inquiry made on behalf of Jordan Chiles had been made before the expiry of the regulatory one-minute time limit.”
USA Gymnastics made clear it is standing firmly behind Chiles.
“We look forward to a fair arbitration that includes the clear evidence proving the inquiry into Jordan’s score was filed well within one minute as required by FIG rules,” the organization said.
Chiles’ attorney, Maurice Suh, also praised the decision.
“We are delighted that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has righted a wrong and given Jordan the chance she deserves to reclaim her bronze medal,” Suh said. “As the Court recognized, there is ‘conclusive’ video evidence that Jordan was the rightful winner of the bronze medal.”
Suh added, “We also appreciate the Court’s recognition that ‘extraordinary time pressure’ and notification defects prevented Jordan from presenting this important evidence in August 2024. We appreciate that Jordan will receive a full and fair opportunity to defend her bronze medal.”
For Chiles, who once said she wanted to reclaim her own narrative, the fight for that bronze is far from over.
