Jordan Chiles competed in the freestyle at the Paris Olympics. She was initially placed fourth, but at the request of the American's coaches, the judges watched her performance again and awarded her an additional point. As a result, Romanian Ana Barbosu was stripped of her medal.
“Taking away a medal won through honest work on the basis of a protest that neither the coaches nor the leading technical specialists understand is completely unacceptable,” thundered Romanian Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu.The case was reviewed by the IOC and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Sports (CAS), which ordered Barbosu's medal to be returned five days after the competition. That's because the Americans' protest was filed four seconds too late. USA Gymnastics tried to change the decision by providing recordings allegedly proving that the protest was filed before the regulation minute had elapsed. But it didn't work.
Jordan Chiles Laments Losing Olympic Medal: A Very Strong Accusation
A few weeks after the events, Chiles returned to the matter during an event organized by Forbes magazine. And she did not hide her regret over what had happened. “I followed the rules. My coach followed the rules. We did everything that was absolutely right,” she said, quoted by the portal rrmcsport.bfmtv.com. “The biggest thing that was taken away from me was the sense of who I am. Not only in sport, but also as a person,” she added.
Finally, the 23-year-old could not take it anymore and made a very strong accusation. – It is not about the medal. It is about the color of my skin – she said. It is worth mentioning here that before she was disqualifiedthe entire podium was made up of dark-skinned competitors (the second was an American Simone Bilesand the first Brazilian Rebeca Andrade), which was the first such case in the history of gymnastics competition at the Olympic Games. Earlier, the sister of gymnast Jazmin Chimes made a similar case. “Racism is real and alive and well,” she wrote on social media..
Jordan Chiles Revisited Traumatic Event: 'I Lost It Again'
The athlete did not hide the fact that it was one of the most difficult experiences in her career. And yet in 2018 she came across a coach who insulted her. – I felt stripped of everything. I felt like I had returned to 2018, when I lost love for sports. I lost it again – summed up Chiles, who brought home the gold medal in the women's team all-around from Paris.