American gymnast Jordan Chiles may be stripped of bronze medal

The GIST: Six days after the competition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced it intends to strip American gymnast Jordan Chiles of her floor exercise bronze medal, but the fight isn’t over just yet. Here’s the latest.

The timeline: Back on August 5th, Chiles initially scored 13.666 in the individual floor final, which landed her in fifth place behind two Romanian gymnasts. While Romania celebrated, Chiles’ coach, Cecile Canqueteau-Landi, asked the judges to review her difficulty marks — a common practice to ensure athletes are judged fairly on all elements of a routine.

• After the review, the judges increased Chiles’ score by 0.1, which bumped her up to third place and secured the bronze.

• Chiles stood on the sport’s first-ever all-Black podium and bowed with her bestie, Simone Biles, in one of the most iconic moments of the Games.

• But yesterday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided Canqueteau-Landi’s appeal. Their reasoning? The coach’s inquiry came four seconds after the one-minute limit.

What’s next: In response, USA Gymnastics submitted a formal letter, as well as video evidence, establishing that Canqueteau-Landi submitted her inquiry 47 seconds after Chiles’ score was posted, well within the one-minute limit.

• Furthermore, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has Chiles’ back, reiterating that she “rightfully earned the bronze” and redirecting attention to the judges’ initial scoring error.

• It’s not clear what the formal appeal process will be, but this situation could make its way to the highest court in Switzerland, where the IOC operates, and might take months or even years to be resolved.

Zooming out: All three gymnasts involved — Chiles and the two Romanians, Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea — have unfairly experienced emotional whiplash throughout this fallout. Unacceptable and unconscionable.