With Jordan Chiles the center of an Olympics saga that could end with her losing a bronze medal, Simone Biles posted a message supporting her Team USA gymnastics teammate on Instagram.
“Sending you so much love Jordan,” Biles, the Team USA star who will leave Paris with four medals, wrote on her story Saturday, while adding a heart emoji. “keep your chin up Olympic champ! We love you!”
Chiles originally took bronze in the women’s floor final following an inquiry that allowed for her to shift from fifth to third in the scoring, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport determined Saturday that the decisive review was submitted four seconds beyond the one-minute deadline.
While an official announcement of Chiles needing to return her bronze medal hasn’t been made, and with USA TODAY reporting that the International Olympic Committee would have that call, the decision would bump Chiles to fifth place and allow Romania’s Ana Barbosu to slide back to third.
“We are devastated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling regarding women’s floor exercise,” USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee wrote in a joint statement posted to X on Saturday. “The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.
“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them. We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”
The bronze medal marked the first individual one for Chiles, who also earned a gold medal from Team USA winning the women’s all-around finals.
Chiles, who Olympics.com reported will return to UCLA for another college season, also won a silver medal for the women’s team final.
