Dispute over Olympic Bronze: Chiles' Lawyers File an Appeal

Jordan Chiles continues her fight to reclaim her bronze medal. The American gymnast's lawyers have formally filed an appeal with the Swiss Federal Court, the highest court in Switzerland, to challenge the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This ruling had stripped Chiles of her medal in women's floor exercise at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Legal experts see slim chances of success in such appeals, but Chiles' lawyers argue that the CAS decision had violated her 'right to a hearing.' The CAS ruling led to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reallocating Chiles' medal to Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu. In their statement, the lawyers highlighted two key arguments. First, the CAS had refused to consider video evidence that could prove Chiles' appeal was filed on time. Second, they claimed the entire CAS process was unfair because Chiles was not properly informed that Hamid Gharavi, the chairman of the CAS panel, had a significant conflict of interest, having worked as a legal advisor for Romania. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee also filed a letter in support of the appeal. USA Gymnastics announced it would prepare additional supporting submissions to 'continue to pursue justice for Jordan.' The incident dates back to August 5 during the competitions at the Bercy Arena in Paris. Initially, Chiles placed fifth with a score of 13.666. After a successful appeal by her coach, her score was increased by one-tenth of a point, moving her up to the bronze position and pushing Bărbosu down to fourth place. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation then appealed to CAS, arguing that the appeal had been submitted four seconds after the one-minute deadline had expired. CAS ruled that Chiles' appeal was indeed late and adjusted her score accordingly, removing her from the podium. The IOC handed the bronze medal to Bărbosu, who received it at a ceremony in Bucharest on August 16. USA Gymnastics stated it did not have sufficient time to properly present its case for Chiles and believed that the appeal was submitted within a permissible margin of 47 seconds. Furthermore, no disclosures were made regarding Gharavi or other panel members. Chiles' appeal now demands the opportunity to properly present her case and submit evidence such as video recordings showing that the appeal was timely filed. In its decision, CAS stated that it would have awarded a bronze medal to Chiles, Bărbosu, and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, whose appeal was also denied if it had the authority to do so. CAS noted that the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) did not have mechanisms in place to monitor the timeliness of appeals, even though Chiles' appeal was submitted electronically. Donatella Sacchi, President of the FIG's Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee, expressed that there were no indications of a late submission when the appeal was received. Chiles, who will return to the UCLA gymnastics team in the new season, spoke extensively about her loss of the medal last Wednesday at the Forbes Power Women's Summit in New York.