Jordan Chiles had gone through a tsunami of emotions following the women’s Floor Exercise final at the Paris Olympics. She thought she’d won bronze, lost it to Romania’s Ana Barbosu upon appeal, and decided to fight the ruling. And now the latest chapter in the saga has boosted Chiles’ medal hopes.

After Romania submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Cecile Landi had failed to make an inquiry about Barbosu’s score within the stipulated timeframe. Devastated upon losing her third place result, Chiles took matters further to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, who have now sent the case back to the CAS for reconsideration.

“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, since the CAS could consider, in the light of this audio-visual sequence, that the verbal inquiry made on behalf of Jordan Chiles had been made before the expiry of the regulatory one-minute time limit,” the statement from the Swiss Federal Tribunal read. 

Now, the CAS will review a recording that will confirm whether or not Landi submitted the inquiry in time.

Following the fresh verdict from the Swiss Tribunal, Chiles’ attorney, Maurice Suh, was overjoyed as Suh promised to fight ‘vigorously’, trying to get the Olympian’s medal back. 

“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. As the Court recognized, there is ‘conclusive’ video evidence that Jordan was the rightful winner of the bronze medal,” said Suh. 

However, along with the good news, Chiles also had a slight setback. The tribunal dismissed Chiles’ appeal, ruling against claims that the head of the arbitration panel lacked independence due to prior work carried out for the Romanian government.

Meanwhile, with the good news spreading fast, Team USA promptly released a statement supporting their star gymnast. 

USA Gymnastics backs Jordan Chiles as bronze medal controversy continues

Since the turmoil surrounding Chiles’ bronze medal started, she has been supported not only by her fans and teammates but also USA Gymnastics, who helped Chiles move forward and fight for the medal. 

“We are pleased the Swiss Federal Supreme Court recognized the flaws in the initial process and that Jordan’s case can now be heard inclusive of all relevant evidence,” read the statement from USAG. “We look forward to a fair arbitration that includes the clear evidence proving the inquiry into Jordan’s score was filed well within 1 minute as required by FIG rules.”

After Chiles was stripped of her bronze medal, she also received immense support from her fellow gymnasts and teammates, Simone Biles, Jade Carry, Sunisa Lee, and Hezly Rivera, who publicly vouched for her during the ordeal. 

“Sending you so much love, Jordan, keep your chin up, Olympic champ! We love you!” wrote Biles on social media.

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Similarly, Lee posted, “All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?? Completely unacceptable. This is awful, and I’m gutted for Jordan. I got your back forever, Jo You have all my flowers, and you will ALWAYS be an Olympic champion”

Even Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci, too, voiced her opinion on the matter, speaking up for the American star. Although she had supported Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu, she also urged fans to stop attacking the athletes involved.