Ana Bărbosu has commented after reclaiming a bronze medal initially awarded to American gymnast Jordan Chiles.
The Romanian athlete had originally secured the medal during the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
However, Team USA lodged an appeal to adjust Chiles’ difficulty score. The judges then corrected Chiles’ D-score from 5.8 to 5.9, which moved her to third place and earned her the bronze medal.
In response, the Romanian Olympic and Sport Committee filed a formal protest with the International Gymnastics Federation, requesting another review of the scoring.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) eventually overturned Team USA’s appeal, stating that their inquiry into Chiles’ score was submitted four seconds past the one-minute window allowed for appeals.
Consequently, Team USA’s appeal was dismissed, and the bronze medal was returned to Bărbosu.
Bărbosu expressed her feelings about the situation on her Instagram Story: “Sabrina [Maneca-Voinea, Bărbosu’s teammate], Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling, because I’ve been through the same.
“But I know you’ll come back stronger. I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share same podium. This is my true dream!”
“This situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation. We, athletes are not to be blamed, and the hate directed to us is painful,” she added.
“I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world,” the gymnast concluded, tagging Chiles in the post.
After CAS announced their decision to reverse Team USA’s appeal, Chiles took to Instagram Story to share a brief message: “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you.”
USA Gymnastics also issued a statement on Twitter today (August 12), saying: “We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan [Chiles].”