The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has appealed a decision by Olympic chiefs to strip Jordan Chiles of his bronze medal after he finished on the podium in the floor competition in Paris.
Early on Sunday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed it will re-award Chile’s bronze medal to Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu after the sport’s highest court overturned an appeal filed in plenary by Chile’s coach.
Hours later, the USOPC issued a statement expressing its belief that “Chiles legitimately earned” the bronze medal.
“There were critical errors in both the initial FIG ruling and the subsequent appeal process before CAS that needed to be addressed,” they wrote.
‘The initial error occurred in the FIG’s scoring, and the second error occurred during the appeal process before CAS, when the USOPC was not given adequate time and notice to effectively challenge the decision. As a result, we were not adequately represented nor afforded the opportunity to present our case thoroughly.’
“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to ensure Jordan Chiles receives the recognition she deserves,” the statement continued. “We remain committed to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter quickly and fairly.”
MORE BELOW