Jordan Chiles, at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit, expressed feeling “left in the dark” over the fallout from the bronze medal controversy at the Paris Olympics. The issue arose when Chiles was promoted from fifth to third place in the floor exercise final after a Team USA inquiry.
This decision led to disputes with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, resulting in Chiles being stripped of the bronze medal.
“The biggest thing that was taken from me was that it was the recognition of who I was, not just my sport, but the person I am,” Chiles said, according to the New York Post. “To me, everything that has gone on, it’s not about the medal, it’s about my skin color. It’s about the fact that there were things that have led up to this position of being an athlete, and I felt like everything has been stripped.”
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In her second Olympics, Chiles finished the floor exercise final on August 5 with a score of 13.666. Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea scored 13.700, with Barbosu receiving a higher execution score.
Following a score inquiry, Chiles’s score was adjusted to 13.766, placing her on the podium behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport determined that Team USA’s review of the scores was submitted late.
As a result, Chiles was ordered by the IOC to return her medal, and Barbosu was awarded a bronze medal.
The UCLA athlete, speaking on Wednesday, also explained how the controversy led to her losing passion for the sport.
“I felt like when I was back in 2018 where I did lose the love of the sport, I lost it again,” she said. “I just feel like there wasn’t a lot of people supporting me who I thought could support me in that situation, could help me and I didn’t feel like it, I felt like I was really left in the dark.”
Chiles then recalled that time six years ago, when she was “dealing with a coach who emotionally and verbally abused” her and that she “didn’t have the ability to use my voice or be heard.”
“That is one thing that I feel now, in this instance of being in this situation, that I wasn’t able to be heard,” said Chiles, who also won gold in the Paris Olympics as part of the team all-around event.
“… But I made history and I will always continue to make history, and something I rightfully did. I followed the rules, my coach followed the rules… So having been left in the dark is something that I feel like they just took that all away and was trying to just put the name gymnastics in front of it.”
Chiles called the situation “one of the most challenging moments” of her career and vowed in a social media post on August 15 that she “will make every effort to ensure that justice is done.”
