A week hasn’t yet passed since Jordan Chiles and her lawyers filed an appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sports’ decision to strip her of her Olympic bronze medal. Romania’s Ana Maria Barbosu, who secured the bronze for artistic gymnastics, has yet to speak up on the debacle after Chiles’ recent appeal. However, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee has it that the medal controversy has taken a huge emotional toll on both athletes. And so, the Romanian authority is keen on resolving the case this week.

The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee’s President Mihai Covaliu said the organization will hold an online meeting with the American Artistic Gymnastics Federation to discuss the Chiles-Barbosu bronze medal debacle. “First and foremost, we will discuss what is happening with these athletes, because they have suffered a lot on an emotional level,” said Mihai Covaliu, as compiled by Ziare.com.

Thereafter, the Romanian chief added that the said meeting would focus on finding a common ground to resolve the ongoing legal fight. “After that, we will see a common way in which we can close this whole case as soon as possible,” Covaliu added. As the bronze medal controversy happened, Jordan Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi made a scoring appeal and saw Chiles’ score increase from 13.666 to 13.766. Subsequently, she toppled Ana Maria Barbosu, who held the third position with a score of 13.700.

Later on, the Romanian appealed before the CAS and reclaimed the bronze medal after it ruled that Chiles’ coach appealed during overtime. Now, with Jordan Chiles’ recent appeal, this is the third time the bronze medal decision has come under scrutiny. So, it is indeed high time to see this back-and-forth come to an end. Nonetheless, Romania has pledged to fight for Barbosu in the wake of Chiles’ newest legal move.

Romania is eager to resolve the case but won’t let Jordan Chiles win the bronze, it seems

Mihai Covaliu later confirmed that the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee and the Romanian government will go the extra mile to defend Ana Maria Barbosu after Jordan Chiles ‘ appeal. “The fight continues outside the sports field, this time through lawyers,” Mihai Covaliu said. He added, “The important thing is that we have done our lessons, we are in contact with everything that happens both with the American side and with the Swiss side. There are things that change from one day to the next, what we have so far is a bronze medal in individual gymnastics for Romania.”

However, Covaliu chose not to comment on Romania’s Sabrina Voinea, who tied with Ana Maria Barbosu during the artistic gymnastics women’s floor exercise. Barbosu was placed above Voinea due to her better execution scores. Only time will tell if the Romanian and American entities can resolve the fight for the bronze in this week’s meeting. But, since Chiles has appealed and the Romanian authorities have pledged to continue the legal fight, there is also a chance for this back-and-forth to go on as an endless affair.