Jordan Chiles’s first-ever individual Olympic medal made history but it was also surrounded with controversy. The women’s floor exercise final saw Chiles initially finish fifth with a score of 13.666. However, after Team USA submitted an inquiry, her score was bumped to 13.766, giving her the bronze medal. As Chiles reveled in her win, Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu was left crestfallen after her place on the podium. Now her compatriot Sabrina Voinea has come out with a new revelation that has added a new narrative to the whole situation.

Barbosu and Voinea both put up scores of 13.700 and felt hard done after the decision. This would have been Romania’s first medal in gymnastics since 2012, but the changing of scores after the inquiry left Barbosu in tears. While the 18-year-old did address her feelings on Instagram about what went down, Voinea brought up the fact that the judges didn’t accept her own inquiry as they did with Chiles.

Voinea was moved from fourth to fifth spot after the score alteration but she wasn’t happy with the judgment. In a video posted by Kickboxing Romania on X, Voinea said, “Simone Biles is a good athlete but the American in 3rd place, Jordan Chiles, made low landings and even left carpet. I was not penalised, I filed appeal and it remained same mark. Chiles kept protesting and changed her mark. I had a much better exercise than her.”

Voinea was penalized by the judges for stepping outside the mat. However, video footage showed she did not step outside the mat and should not have been penalized. Moreover, like Chiles, Voinea also filed for an inquiry but didn’t result in any change.

An inquiry is a verbal challenge that can come after the gymnast has completed her or his schedule. It can affect the score positively or negatively or leave a zero change. 

Chiles’ original D score for her floor exercise was 5.8. However, after her routine, her coach filed a challenge. The point of contention was the Gogean skill, which was not initially credited by judges. After the review, the judges agreed to raise her score by 0.1 point to give her a third-place finish.

Earlier, responding to the events, Barbosu had tried to put a positive spin on the events.

Bărbosu shared a video on her Instagram stories and wrote, “Thank you to everyone who encouraged me before, during, and after the competition.” She also posted a series of photos from her Olympic journey and wrote, “A dream come true. Competing with the most amazing teammates, and placing 7th at the Olympics is a huge accomplishment! Being in two individual finals was more than I dreamed of.”

The 18-year-old was celebrating with the Romanian flag held aloft, while Chiles’ team submitted the inquiry. But as Chiles’ score was improved, snatching the bronze medal from Bărbosu, she was distraught and had to be consoled as she cried. Still, it appears she has chosen not to escalate things, but that cannot be said of Romania’s gymnast great Nadia Comaneci.

Comăneci spoke with the head judge to know why Voinea was deducted 0.1. She said, “They said they had a photo showing a small part of her heel slightly out of bounds, which I did not see.” Later, on Monday she took to X to reply to a tweet that talked about the incident. The nine-time Olympic medalist wrote, “I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them #anabarbosu.”

Meanwhile, Chiles has come out and responded to controversy, taking a firm stance.

Jordan Chiles responds to medal controversy

After watching her name in the third position on the leaderboard tonight, Jordan Chiles could not hold back her emotions. Ultimately, it was her first individual Olympic medal. “I was the first one to see … I was like jumping up and down,” she said. 

Her third-place finish meant we saw an all-Black podium for the first time in Olympic gymnastic history, with Biles finishing second and Brazilian Rebeca Andrade taking gold. For Chiles as well a first individual gold medal is a distinct honor. However, the controversy surrounding it may have soured the taste a little. Taking to X, Chiles responded to the ongoing debate with a simple but blunt message.

She wrote, “It’s funny how people can still never be happy for someone…” However, the pot is still stirring and we may hear more from some names in the gymnastics community before it is all said and done. The latest comments by Voinea may initiate a few more debates on this.