Just four seconds, and bang, Jordan Chiles’ life changed! Wearing a wide smile, head held high, and a bronze medal around the neck, Jordan stood with her first individual Olympic medal. But this wasn’t it! It was an all-Black podium for the first time in the history of women’s gymnastics in the Olympics. 5th August 2024 was cemented in history! This is exactly what Chiles must have felt. After all, she held her hard-earned prize. But it did not stay for long. An unexpected CAS ruling changed it all! Very quickly joy turned into disbelief, shock, and eventually sorrow! The world witnessed the events, but what about Jordan’s emotions?

The gymnastics queen has spoken up and the word is out! In Jordan’s soon-to-release memoir, I’m That Girl, the gymnast explained how that ruling impacted her initially. Jordan Chiles wrote, “Suddenly, the car went quiet. I’m surprised everyone couldn’t hear the sound of my heart breaking, because it absolutely did, there in that back seat. My brain stopped even functioning within my body. Somewhere faraway, I could see my mom shaking her head, and hear her saying “Why? Why!“”She must have been in an Uber when the news was broken to her. To be honest, such a reaction was very much natural.

Since the Tokyo Olympics, Jordan Chiles has been one of the most dedicated fighters for Team USA on the mat. In the Japanese capital, she took the responsibility of taking the women’s gymnastics team to the list of toppers in Simone Biles’ absence. And she was successful in that goal. Team USA earned a silver medal, standing behind China. But she didn’t have any individual laurels. Three years later, when she had the chance in the women’s floor exercise final, the stars aligned for her but also didn’t align for her. Confusing, no?

In the French capital, Jordan had her moment. She had a chance to stand with Rebeca Andrade and Simone Biles on the podium. But CAS’s ruling turned the tables for her. She went back to fifth position from being ranked third. Fortunately, she had everyone around her when she heard the news. But the emotional storm in her didn’t care about anyone’s presence. In her memoir, she disclosed that part, penning, “We were still in an Uber, being driven by someone we did not know, and the only way I could react was with silent tears behind my sunglasses, as the Uber continued driving us through the streets of Manhattan.” Remember, Jordan Chiles has not been that good at expressing her emotions. 

At that moment, the 23-year-old gymnast had no way of gathering her emotions. She could only feel numb. Also, at the same time, she could feel every thought and memory flooding her mind all at once. When the car stopped, Jordan Chiles returned to reality. She tried to regain her senses. Jordan tried to realize and process that Ana Barbosu would have the medal now. Just because of a four-second gap!

But what’s the situation now? What about the legal battle? 

Jordan Chiles is still waiting to see the better end 

Since CAS’s ruling in September 2024, Jordan Chiles has shown no sign of giving up. She has yet to hand over her bronze medal to the IOC, and if you believe her, she is going to keep it. But what about the legal battle? On January 27 this year, her legal team filed two additional briefs to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to change CAS’s ruling. It might be the last resort for her to change the status quo. But do you have any idea what the point of contention is now? 

It is about the fairness of the arbitration process. Jordan and Team USA’s legal teams have complained that Hamid G. Gharavi, the key part in the tribunal, had ties with Romania in the past. He had represented Romania in the past, and he did that repetitively. Then how could he not be biased, asked Jordan and her legal team. In fact, Jordan’s legal team’s standpoint has revolved around “revealing that the defendants have information not accessible to the public about Gharavi’s activities, income, and assets when it is precisely they who want to assert Gharavi’s total independence.”

Well, the submissions are still on the table. It will take time to reach the proper judgment. Till then, stay tuned for the latest updates.