Over the last few days, Jordan Chiles has been put through the emotional wringer. First during the women’s floor final last Monday, she initially finished fifth behind Romanians Ana Bărbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea before an appeal handed her the bronze medal. However, in another twist, the IOC ruled that Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi made the appeal late, which meant the medal went back to Bărbosu. Following the whole ordeal, Chiles has appeared upset taking to social media to express herself, and now Bărbosu has also come out with a message to her competitor.

As Chiles was celebrating her historic triumph, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation requested the Court of Arbitration for Sport, (CAS) to review the procedure surrounding Landi’s appeal of Chiles’ score during the women’s floor final. The CAS in its review found that Landi appealed 1 minute and 4 seconds after the score was posted. How does it matter? Well, International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) rules require coaches to make any appeal of a score within one minute of it being posted. Thus CAS ruled that the initial appeal was past the deadline, leaving Chiles heartbroken.

Bărbosu was already celebrating with the flag when they announced the decision. While she had to leave empty-handed that night, she has now been reinstated in third place, stripping Chiles of the bronze 5 days after the finals commenced. The American had to deal with a slew of accusations and unkind things thrown her way. Amidst all this noise, the Romanian had some kind words for the gymnast.

Taking to her Instagram she posted a story on Sunday. “Sabrina, Jordan, my thoughts are with you. But I know you’ll come back stronger. I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share the same podium. This is my true dream,” it read.

During the women’s floor final Bărbosu and her compatriot Sabrina Voinea finished with the same 13.7 score, but the bronze went to the former because of a higher execution score. However, after Team USA filed an inquiry it was found that Chiles’ Gogean skill was not credited by the judges. Upon review, Chiles’s score was changed from 13.666 to 13.766, bumping her to a podium finish. This also meant that the Olympics witnessed a first-ever all-Black podium with Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade taking silver and gold respectively. But all that has been changed now.

Bărbosu also took a subtle dig at those in charge and mentioned that this back and forth wouldn’t have happened if the regulations were properly followed the first time. In her message to Chiles, she added, “The situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation. We, athletes, are not to be blamed, and the hate directed to us is painful. I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world.”

Bărbosu was also respectful of the earlier decision which saw her finish fourth. Taking to her Instagram stories following the event, she mentioned, “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.” However, Sabrina Voinea let her feelings known.

Having finished fifth, Voinea was less than pleased with the judges. She was penalized by the judges for stepping outside the mat. But video footage showed that was not the case and she should not have been penalized. Moreover, like Chiles, Voinea also filed for an inquiry but didn’t result in any change.

Speaking in an interview on August 6, she 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.” Chiles’s win came under scrutiny and many questioned the outcomes. The American also hit back at those doubts tweeting “It’s funny how people can still never be happy for someone…” after winning bronze. But now the scenario has once again changed.

CAS submitted its decision to strip Chiles of the medal and award it to Bărbosu. IOC made the announcement on Sunday confirming the new standings. The statement read, “Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu (Romania).”

Chiles understandably hurt by the ruling also took to Instagram to post a story with broken heart emojis. Later, she posted another story announcing, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you.”

Ana Barbosu took to her Instagram account, @ana_barbosu, to help console her competitors, Sabrina and Jordan, with a heartfelt message:

“Sabrina, Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling, because I’ve been through the same. But I know you’ll come back stronger. I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share the same podium. This is my true dream! This situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation. We, athletes, are not to be blamed, and the hate directed to us is painful. I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world.”

The reason for Chiles stepping away from social media could be the vile abuse she had to face ever since her win last week.

Jordan Chiles’ Olympic journey tainted by unsavory remarks

Is winning a medal terrible? It might seem like that for Jordan Chiles. The 23-year-old was handed the short end of the stick with several fans criticizing her on social media. However, things started spiraling when many decided to throw racial slurs at her, leading to her mother, Gina Chiles stepping in. “My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched…and she’s being called disgusting things,” she posted on X. But she isn’t the only one who decided to step up for her.

Her compatriot Simone Biles shared an image on Instagram with a sweet note attached. “Sending you so much love Jordan🤍keep your chin up olympic champ! we love you!” Suni Lee and Jade Carey pointed out all the hate towards Chiles and reiterated how she will always be an Olympic champion in their eyes too.

For now, the 23-year-old has decided to take a break from this chaos and controversy to focus on her mental health.