After much controversy, Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosa won the bronze medal at the Olympics on Friday during a ceremony in the country’s capital, Bucharest. The medal was eventually taken away from American gymnast Jordan Chiles after it was first given to her.
“I wasn’t expecting the medal to be so heavy, but if I have to wear it all the time to keep it, I will,” stated Barbosu following the ceremony.
Following a ruling last week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Barbosu was given the medal again. The decision overturned a challenge filed by Team USA coach Cecile Landi on August 5 during the floor exercise final in Paris, which had pushed Barbosu to fourth and placed Chiles in third.
After the appeal, Chiles was first awarded the bronze medal and took part in the medal ceremony that took place following the competition.
Known traditionally as a gymnastics powerhouse, Romania was enraged by this choice. The appeals process of the U.S. squad was subject to a demand review by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. The U.S. team filed their appeal four seconds after the one-minute deadline had gone, according to the CAS decision that ultimately favored Barbosu.
Barbour stated in a statement to the media on Friday following her medal acceptance that the controversy’s resolution “was possible with the help of the federation as well as the law firm that stood by us athletes and fought for us.”
She continued, “I am exceedingly pleased to have this medal and hope to represent the Country at the highest level, giving home more medals.”
Gymnastics has always seen Romania as a strong force, but in recent years, Romania has found it difficult to sustain its success. With Barbosu’s accomplishment, Romania has won an Olympic medal in gymnastics for the first time since the London Games in 2012. According to USA Gymnastics, they will keep trying to get Chiles to keep her medal.
Gymnasts and coaches frequently ask judges to evaluate a routine in order to make sure that all elements are scored correctly. This practice is known as an inquiry. A question may result in a score adjustment.
But the circumstances surrounding the athletes in Paris have been excruciating for each one of them, made worse by the constant barrage of hate mail the gymnasts have received online. Described as “wrong and extremely hurtful,” Chiles has been the target of several racially inflammatory remarks on social media. On Thursday, she called the decision to deprive her of the bronze medal “unjust.”
Barbosu called the medal controversy “saddening” on Friday and said, “We expect the Olympic staff and referees to carry out their job responsibly.”
