Jordan Chiles' fight for bronze medal in gymnastics ends up in Swiss court

The battle for Jordan Chile’s bronze medal is not over yet.

Chiles' lawyers announced on Monday that they had filed a formal appeal with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court against the results of the women's floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, asking the court to overturn an earlier ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that had effectively thrown Chiles off the podium.

Chiles was moved up to third place after she challenged the scoring of an element of her routine, but days later she was demoted back to fifth place after CAS ruled the challenge had been submitted four seconds too late. The International Olympic Committee has since ordered Chiles to return her bronze medal and awarded one to Anna Barbosu of Romania, the gymnast who moved up to third place after the CAS decision.

“Jordan Chiles' appeals pose a simple legal question to the international community: Will everyone stand by and watch as an Olympic athlete who did only the right thing is stripped of her medal for fundamental injustice in an ad hoc arbitration process?” attorney Maurice Suh said in a statement. “The answer to that question should be no. Every part of the Olympic Games, including the arbitration process, should stand for fair play.”

The statement also said Chiles intends to file another petition “requesting additional and alternative remedies from the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.”

“Both submissions could lead to a retrial of the case before CAS to give her – for the first time – the opportunity to prepare a defence and present evidence, including the video footage showing that her coach's points request was submitted on time,” the statement said.

Chile's appeal to the tribunal, Switzerland's highest court, is a significant and relatively rare step. The CAS is designed to be the final authority in disputes in international sport and therefore often has the final say in cases such as this one, which was originally brought by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation against the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

The Swiss court normally annuls CAS decisions only in cases where there is a blatant procedural violation, lack of jurisdiction or incompatibility with Swiss public policy.

Chiles' lawyers said in a press release that they would appeal the CAS ruling because it was “procedurally flawed” in two respects. They argue that the American gymnast's fundamental “right to be heard” was violated when the CAS refused to consider new video evidence obtained after the hearing that showed her request had been submitted on time. And they also say the CAS hearing was unfair because Chiles was not informed that the head of the arbitration panel hearing the case, Hamid Gharavi, had “a serious conflict of interest” because he had represented Romania in other proceedings.

“In view of these undeniable deficiencies, Chiles asks the Federal Court to reinstate the result legally awarded to her in the final of the parquet tournament,” said the press release from the law firms Gibson Dunn and Homburger AG.

The law firms said Chiles' appeal was accompanied by a letter of support from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which had repeatedly criticized CAS's handling of the case – particularly with regard to the timing.

While the CAS attempted to notify all relevant parties of the dispute on August 6, the USOPC and national governing body USA Gymnastics said they were not informed of the case until three days later – and less than 24 hours before the hearing was due to begin. The first notifications about the case were sent to incorrect email addresses, USA Gymnastics said.

The governing bodies also regretted the CAS's decision not to consider the above-mentioned video footage. It was, they said, only discovered after the CAS hearing, but conclusively proves that Chiles' request was submitted in a timely manner. The CAS refused to reopen the case and consider the new video footage.

“Working with Jordan's counsel and USA Gymnastics, we are taking a coordinated approach, with Jordan's team handling the first appeal,” the USOPC said in a statement. “Due to the CAS's blatant errors and negligence in handling the case and overlooking clear evidence of Jordan's legitimate bronze win, we are determined to ensure she receives the recognition she deserves. Our commitment to the truth in this matter remains unwavering.”

USA Gymnastics said it supports Chiles' appeal and will continue to work with her legal team.

“We will file supporting motions with the court to continue to seek justice for Jordan,” USAG said in a statement.

The dispute itself revolves around narrow differences – namely a tenth of a point in the floor exercise final, which makes the difference between Chiles and Barbosu and the bronze medal.

Chiles and her coaches felt that the 23-year-old had not received full marks for her split jump, known as the Tour Jete Full. Cecile Landi, who was Chiles' personal coach and also coached the US team in Paris, filed what is known as an investigation and ordered a review of the scoring of that element. This was successful and Chiles was awarded an additional 0.10 points, giving her the bronze medal and knocking 18-year-old Barbosu off the podium.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation later appealed to CAS, arguing that the request was submitted four seconds after the one-minute deadline. CAS agreed and asked FIG to change the order of finishes, prompting the IOC to ask Chiles to return her bronze medal.

The CAS ruling in question was filed by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and Barbosu against FIG and Donatella Sacchi, the president of the FIG Technical Committee for Women's Gymnastics. Although Chiles, the USOPC and the USAG were not named in the dispute, they were involved in the arbitration as “interested parties,” according to CAS.

Chiles spoke publicly about the ordeal for the first time last week, saying during an appearance at the Forbes Power Women's Summit that the process had left her “heartbroken.” The International Gymnastics Federation acknowledged during the CAS hearing that it had no mechanism to verify that requests were submitted in a timely manner and accepted Chiles' request because it assumed they were.

Jordan Chiles' fight for bronze medal in gymnastics ends up in Swiss court

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