The internet lost it the second Jordan Chiles stepped off the podium. “SNEAKY BLACK, give the medal back to the Romanian gymnast. She deserves it. “GET A JOB, N—-!” “Oh yeah, doesn’t fit the agenda of inclusivity, and it won’t be BlAcK GiRl MaGic. She is white.” The hate came fast and vicious. But why? On August 4, 2024, Ana Barbosu was on top of the world—a grinning Romanian flag wrapped around her, celebrating her country’s first gymnastics medal in over a decade. And then, just minutes later, it was gone. A last-minute inquiry bumped up Chile’s difficulty score, pushing her into third place. While Chiles and her team celebrated, Barbosu stood there, frozen, tears welling in her eyes.

Gold went to Rebeca Andrade (BRA), silver to Simone Biles (USA), and bronze—now at the center of chaos—to Chiles. Romanian fans were outraged, convinced their girl had been robbed. But here’s the truth: Chile’s medal was rightfully hers. Didn’t matter, though—the racist backlash hit like a freight train. Through all the noise, though, there was one silver lining: Chile still got to take home a medal.

But she never knew what was lying for her next! After seeing the endless flood of racist comments, Gina told Jordan to take a break from social media—and she did. It was exactly what she needed. But even away from the screens, the hateful words lingered in her mind. So, Gina did what any mom would do—she whisked Jordan away on a much-needed Disney trip. For a brief moment, things felt normal again.

But reality was waiting. The day after their Disney escape, Jordan flew to New York for a packed media tour, acting like everything was fine. She had back-to-back appearances—podcasts, talk shows, magazine interviews. Stepping out of the car in Manhattan, she headed into the Condé Nast building for interviews with Glamour, Teen Vogue, Self, and GQ Sports, ready to put on a brave face. Then Gina’s phone rang.

The call that changed everything. Romania had officially filed a legal challenge against Jordan’s bronze medal, dragging FIG, judges, USA Gymnastics, the USOPC, and Jordan into the fight. Worse? A misdirected email meant they had just 46 minutes to secure legal counsel before the deadline. CAS refused to delay—the hearing was happening at 8 a.m. Paris time, while they’d be asleep.

Gina had done everything to shield Jordan from the chaos, knowing she was already drowning in hate. But now? There was no avoiding it. She had to tell her daughter. But how? In her memoir I’m That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams, released on March 4, Jordan Chiles shares moments from her life, including how one misdirected email led to a terrifying situation.

But that wasn’t the only time she faced an unexpected crisis. She recounts another life-changing moment—the day she learned her Olympic medal was in jeopardy. As her mother urgently took a call before the interview, Chiels was looking tense. Even before hearing a word, she knew something was wrong. “My anxiety instantly skyrocketed. I was already not having a ‘normal’ day,” she recalls.

Watching her mom approach, she noticed a familiar look—on the outside, she seemed calm, but underneath, she was frantically paddling like a duck in distress. Then came the chilling words.

“Guys, can you—I need to talk to Jordan. I’m so sorry,” her mom said, stumbling over her words. Without hesitation, her mom grabbed her and pulled her into a bathroom. Jordan’s heart pounded. “What was so important that it couldn’t wait?” she wondered.

They were just steps away from the Glamour offices, yet whatever was happening required immediate privacy. Then her mom dropped the bombshell. Speaking so fast, she was practically out of breath; she rushed through a flurry of words. “USA Gymnastics”—Jordan‘s stomach tightened. “My medal”—her chest felt heavy. “Romanian Federation…”—what did they have to do with this?

“Lawyer.”—wait, a lawyer? Her head spun. She was already struggling emotionally that day, and now she was being told that they had only 42 minutes to gather paperwork to defend her Olympic win. It felt unreal. Jordan was already on the verge of falling apart and now she had to fight for her own medal. All she wanted was to escape—to go home to Texas, crawl into bed, and shut out the world. But this wasn’t going away.

Her mom looked at her with urgency and said, “I don’t know what to do, but it’s probably in your best interest to have someone there to represent you.” Jordan Chiles froze. “Represent me…?” she thought. This wasn’t just a misunderstanding—it was serious. The reality hit like a punch: if she needed a lawyer, then her Olympic moment, something she had worked for her entire life, was in danger.

Without thinking, she blurted out the only thing that came to mind, as if she were at gunpoint. “

Call Dad.” That was her reflex. Her mom handled daily matters, but when it came to life-changing decisions, they called Dad. There was no waiting until they saw him later at the hotel—this had to happen now. By the time they got him on the phone, only 36 minutes remained.

As her mom frantically explained the situation, Jordan heard the devastating truth again. USA Gymnastics had just informed them that Romania was trying to strip her of the bronze. The entire course of her career could be altered in mere minutes, and she had to figure out how to fight back—fast. But then the final decision came.

Jordan Chiles stands up against controversial Olympic ruling

Eleven days after the Olympic floor final, Ana Barbosu was awarded the bronze medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Jordan Chiles’ last-minute inquiry was four seconds late, retroactively dropping her to 5th place. Jordan Chiles, believing the medal was rightfully hers, launched a legal battle to overturn the decision.

By January 2025, her legal team had formally filed two appeals to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, arguing that Dr. Hamid D. Gharavi, the CAS panel president, had longstanding ties to Romanian interests, creating a serious conflict of interest. She also pointed to “serious procedural deficiencies” that denied her a fair and impartial tribunal, claiming that USA Gymnastics never received Dr. Gharavi’s independence form—a critical misstep that could weaken the ruling against her.

Before releasing her memoir, Jordan Chiles addressed the medal controversy on Good Morning America, making it clear she wasn’t letting the fight define her. “I’m just going to continue on to move with life,” she said. “I can’t control what happens at the end of the day. I just know what’s right with me and that I’m always just going to continue to look forward.” Whether she gets her medal back or not, Chiles has already won in her own way—by standing up for fairness and refusing to back down