Jordan Chiles isn’t having the best time of her life right now. Five days after winning her second medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the UCLA Bruins gymnast was handed a punishing blow to the guts by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and she’s left reeling. Simone Biles’ 23-year-old national teammate will have to return the bronze medal she won in the women’s individual floor routine at the 33rd Olympic Games. Naturally, Jordan is devastated. But she did try to find the solution to the problem, which was only met with deafness.

Since the ruling came to the fore, social media has been flooded with fuming fans, who are of the opinion that it’s unfair to Jordan to nullify her efforts on the grand stage, especially when the mistake was first made by the judges. However, letting go of an Olympic medal is a tough ask for any athlete, and Jordan tried her best to keep her prize.

Jordan Chiles’ offer was brushed aside

A post by GymCastic from earlier today reveals that Chiles extended her willingness to mitigate the controversial decision by the CAS to give her medal to Romania’s Ana Barbosu. Not only that, it’s been highlighted that the apex gymnastics bodies of both the USA and Romania were also up for a meeting at a middle ground, keeping in mind their athletes’ mental stability. “A source told us: USAG and Romania have agreed to share the bronze,” says the post, before elaborating how the agreement was met with rejection.

“IOC and FIG said No. They have asked Jordan to return her medal,” says the post further, and the underlying heartbroken tonality of the words cannot be overlooked. While it seems like Jordan has a few avenues for her to explore, with a number of sports lawyers up to help her in the troubled times, the people over at the Olympic Committee and the FIG look determined to pass judgment with a resolution.

Naturally, things look grim for the Washington native. Considering how her medal was robbed, we can only hope she will take her time to come back stronger than ever.

A rollercoaster of emotions: between elation and despair

Earlier this week at the French capital, Chiles laid a sensational floor routine, which earned her 13.666 points for the performance. However, her coach, Cecile Landi, raised an inquiry about the scoring, noting that the judges hadn’t scored her for the Gogean. After the mistake was rectified, Chiles went from fifth to third after her new score of 13.766, which also brought her the bronze. In the process, Jordan overtook Romania’s Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. However, the CAS noted today that Cecile’s inquiry was raised after the designated one-minute window (Chiles & Co. apparently missed it by four seconds). As things now stand, either of them will be crowned an Olympic medalist.

However, the decision hasn’t been sitting well with fans and gymnasts. The legendary Nadia Comaneci noted how such issues can impact the mental well-being of athletes and suggested that all three stars be given the bronze. Jordan’s sister Jazmin also took to social media to lash out at the CAS, IOC, and the FIG, claiming that this was a biased decision against her sibling.

However, it looks like Chiles will have to adhere to the ruling, nonetheless. But how do you think the situation could have been handled differently? Tell us in the comments!