- Romanian athlete was awarded bronze over Chiles
- IOC has said American must return Olympic medal
Jordan Chiles says she has been left “heartbroken” by the decision to strip her of her Olympic bronze medal and says she has been exposed to racially motivated abuse on social media.
The US gymnast was initially given bronze in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics after an appeal over how the judges scored her routine was accepted and she moved from fifth to third place. However, the Romanian Olympic Committee said the appeal had been filed four seconds after the one-minute time limit. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) then voided Chiles’s appeal and the IOC ordered the American to return the medal. Romania’s Ana Barbosu was promoted to third while Chiles dropped back to fifth. The Romanians had asked for both gymnasts to be given bronze.
