The women’s floor routine finals debacle will continue to elude the masses. Many are still reeling from the controversial ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport that stripped Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal. Before the dust has settled, fans now wonder if Simone Biles should have appealed her floor exercise score. To refresh your memory, the gymnast’s score of 14.133 put her on the second step of the podium. But a fan still questioned why she decided to settle for that result.

They posted their query on r/Gymnastics, hoping other fans could help them with the answer. “Why didn’t Simone submit an inquiry on floor finals?” They reiterated that they weren’t speaking up against the result. Being Brazilian themselves, they were rooting for Rebeca. But they were still curious nonetheless. “Why didn’t Simone ask for her score to be reviewed? Her score was very close to Rebeca’s. Even if she wasn’t confident that she would succeed, she had nothing to lose by trying.” Would it have been the right thing for the G.O.A.T.?

After a stellar performance at the Bercy Arena, Jordan Chiles couldn’t go any higher than the fifth position. But Cecile Landi’s quick appeal eventually catapulted her to the last step of the podium. However, Biles’ gymnastics club, the World Champions Centre, has now opened up about what they thought of the controversy on social media. Their statement started with a simple “Let’s talk.” But in all of this, more information came to light.

The WCC stated, “In a sport that has so many subjective elements that can drastically vary a score it’s important to remember and generally respect the adjudication the day of the event. Many points can be raised as to what could have or should have been done.” However, it was the next point that grabbed several eyeballs. “For instance: Simone was most likely underscored for her routine. An inquiry could have pushed her over Andrade, but no one is really talking about that.” The gymnast was given a few minor deductions. Even though she seemed happy to settle for silver, this suggests otherwise.

However, they reiterated that regardless of the conclusion, “this situation is not a fault of the athletes.” They even asked everyone to stop pushing narratives of “athletes stealing medals & glory from others, it’s not their fault, nor their responsibility.” Finally, they gave a shout-out to all the athletes who participated on the world’s biggest stage. While fans appreciated their statement, many were still shocked to find out that Biles could’ve submitted an appeal too. 

The gymnastics community is befuddled by new information about Simone Biles

Many fans decided to jump onto TaifunDevilry’s thread, eager to answer their question. One fan stated, “They probably realized there was no point. E score can’t be contested, so they couldn’t inquire that. Neutral deductions (OOB being the main ones on floor) CAN be contested, but hers were indisputable, very clearly two feet out on both the second and fourth passes.” They also elaborated on how judges don’t particularly view a skill by itself—it would have to be an entire routine. This could have put Biles’ silver in danger since Voinea and Chiles were yet to perform. 

Another fan exclaimed, “You can only inquire about the D score not the E score. and you can certainly loose something by submitting an inquiry. they can also devalue skills upon reviewing the routine.” Regardless of what the score would be by the end of the appeal, it wouldn’t change the color of her medal. One fan pointed out, “You DO have something to lose by trying. If she had inquired, they could have lowered her score and cost her a medal.” Due to being awarded her full difficulty level, Biles was at greater risk of a deduction. 

A fan expressed, “That’s exactly it – they devalued one leap. If they’d gone back they could have devalued both. That would have put her in a situation where Voinea or Chiles could catch up.” Voinea and Barbosu both scored 13.700. But due to a deduction, the obvious winner was the latter. However, since neither the former nor Chiles had performed just yet, this would have proven to be a risky move for the 27-year-old. 

One fan simply said, “Gymcastic on the most recent episode reported that they allegedly tried to but was told they were too late. So it appears that there may have been an attempt.” However, based on WCC’s statement, we now know this isn’t true. Do you think Simone Biles should have opted for an appeal? Or do you agree with the fans? Let us know in the comments!