Cas condemns ‘outrageous statements’ over Chiles ruling

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has condemned “outrageous statements” that it was biased in its decision not to reconsider stripping US gymnast Jordan Chiles of her Olympic bronze medal.

The International Gymnastics Federation (Fig) upgraded Romania’s Ana Barbosu from fourth to third in the Paris 2024 women’s floor final following a Cas ruling.

Cas upheld an appeal by the Romanian Olympic Committee that a challenge submitted by the US team over Chiles’ score fell outside the one-minute limit and should be disregarded.

USA Gymnastics attempted to have Cas reconsider its decision, citing new video evidence it said proved the challenge was made in time. But on Monday, it revealed that request had been denied.

Reports in US media suggested the head of the Cas panel making the decision in the case had links to Romania.

But on Wednesday, Cas published its written reasons for its decision not to reconsider the ruling.

“The Cas condemns the outrageous statements published in certain US media alleging that the panel, and more particularly its chairman, was biased due to other professional engagements or for reasons of nationality,” it said.

“As none of the parties involved in this case has challenged any panel member during the procedure, it can reasonably be assumed that all parties were satisfied to have their case heard by this panel. Any subsequent criticism is without foundation or merit.”

USA Gymnastics responded by saying it “strongly disagrees” with Cas’ detailed decision.

The women’s floor final took place on 5 August and Romania appealed to Cas the following day.

USA Gymnastics said it did not become aware of the case until 9 August, which it said was “two days past the deadline to submit objections related to panellists, and less than 24 hours before the hearing”.

It claimed this was because Cas sent case filings to “incorrect email addresses”.

In a separate statement, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) also claimed Cas “sent crucial communications to erroneous email addresses” at both USOPC and USA Gymnastics.

It added: “This deprived us of adequate time to respond meaningfully or gather necessary evidence.”

USA Gymanstics said it will “pursue these and other matters upon appeal” as it continues to “seek justice for Jordan Chiles”.

During the final, Chiles, 23, was upgraded from fifth to third following an inquiry by her coach Cecile Landi that increased her difficulty rating.

The Romanian Olympic Committee successfully appealed to Cas on the grounds the inquiry was “untimely” as it had been submitted four seconds after the time limit of one minute.

On Sunday, USA Gymnastics submitted a letter and video to Cas appearing to show Landi’s request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, while they also said she filed a second statement 55 seconds after the original posting of the score.

However, on Wednesday Cas said no further evidence had been presented before it held a hearing.

“At the hearing, there was no dispute between the parties that Ms Chiles’ inquiry was submitted one minute and four seconds after her score was officially displayed on the scoreboard,” Cas said.

“All parties accepted as clear and determinative the report prepared by Omega, the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games. No party sought the admittance of other evidence.”

It added: “The panel is fully aware of the disappointment this adjudicating process may cause.

“The panel would simply point out that its task is to rule on the law and the evidence before it, and in this case both are crystal clear in relation to the one-minute rule and its application to the circumstances of this case.”