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American Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles has spoken out about her opinion on whether racism was a factor in the decision that led to her bronze medal from the Paris 2024 Olympics being annulled.
During an interview on the “Baby, this is Keke Palmer” podcast, Chiles was asked if she “accepted” that she had “experienced racism” after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned a scoring change that placed Chiles third on the women’s floor exercise medal podium, knocking her down to fifth place.
“At first, I didn’t think about it that way until I started almost literally getting racist comments and saying this and saying that and basically being like people were telling me to kill myself and it got to a very, very difficult point,” Chiles said in response.
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Chiles took third place on the first Olympic women’s gymnastics podium that included three black medalists, along with American teammate Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. Chiles now says that the “all black” podium was something that “people don’t like.”
Simone Biles (silver), Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (gold) and American Jordan Chiles (bronze) show sportsmanship during the podium ceremony for the artistic gymnastics women’s floor exercise event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris, August 5, 2024. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)
“I had to step away from social media for a while. Because, you know, it was very difficult to even see that, as an athlete, let alone as an athlete, I’m on top, there, yes, it’s an ‘all black’ podium, which is very strange, it’s obviously something that people don’t like.
“As a woman of color, I started to see it more. They didn’t want to see that, they didn’t want to see three beautiful black women standing on that podium. They didn’t want to see the fact that we were just dominating. And I really took it to heart.”
Romania’s Ana Barbosu initially finished with a higher score than Chiles once the American finished her routine.
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At the end of the floor exercise final at the Summer Games in August, Barbosu claimed third place and a spot on the podium after initially finishing. Barbosu was visibly excited when she saw the final results.
But then an American coach spoke to the judges and appealed the score on one of Chiles’ plays. After review, Chiles’ score increased, placing the American in third place and leaving Barbosu off the podium. When Barbosu looked up and saw the score change on the board, he dropped the Romanian flag he was holding, covered his face with his hands, and walked away crying.
Ana Barbosu of Romania enters the arena before the floor final on the tenth day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Bercy Arena on August 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Chiles accepted the bronze medal and joined Biles and Andrade on the podium.
Then, on the final day of the Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Chile’s appeal was filed after the one-minute deadline and changed its score to put it back in fifth place. The next day, August 11, 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) determined that Chiles must return the medal.
Chiles previously claimed he was facing “racial attacks” from social media users in a statement posted to X.
In his first interview after the incident occurred, he made similar comments.
“For me, everything that’s happened isn’t about the medal, it’s about, you know, the color of my skin,” Chiles said in a September 2024 interview during a panel at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit.
The controversy sparked international scrutiny on the judges who scored the event. The CAS and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) issued a joint statement condemning the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the judging team for the result.
“If the FIG had implemented such a mechanism or provision, many headaches would have been avoided,” the CAS ad hoc panel said in a statement. “The Panel expresses the hope that the FIG will draw consequences from this case, in relation to these three extraordinary athletes and also for other athletes and their support staff, in the future, so that this never happens again.”
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Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles of Team USA pose with their Paris 2024 Olympic medals after the artistic gymnastics women’s floor exercise final on the tenth day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena on August 5, 2024, in Paris, France. They later took Chiles’ medal away. (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Chiles and Team USA are currently appealing against the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over its decision.
Chiles’ lawyers have argued that his coach did indeed make the request on time and that there is video evidence to prove it, and they have also indicated that the official who made the decision to strip Chiles of his medal had ties to Romania.
Chiles also filed an appeal with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to overturn the CAS decision. He argued that he was not given a fair opportunity to defend himself and that the CAS did not properly consider the video evidence.
Barbosu received her bronze medal shortly after finishing the Olympics and expressed her sympathy for her American opponent, as well as her Romanian teammate, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, whose finish was also affected by the back-and-forth score change.
“I can’t help but think about Sabrina and Jordan right now,” Barbosu said in a statement. “It is a difficult situation for us, with so many uncertainties and overwhelming emotions. I hope everyone understands that we have done nothing wrong at the Olympic Games. And that the Olympic spirit is more important than any misunderstanding between the authorities.
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Barbosu currently competes in women’s gymnastics at Stanford, while Chiles competes at UCLA. The two programs will face off on March 7.
