Blog #7
Who Wants a Bronze Anyway?
Introduction
It’s Monday, the 5th of August 2024, and Jordan Chiles is going up against two female phenoms in Rebeca Andrade and the undisputed GOAT Simone Biles. Andrade finally pipped Biles to the gold, who had to settle for silver. Chiles had scored 13.666, meaning she finished in 5th place. However, her coach enquired to the judges regarding her difficulty rating. As a result, Chiles’ score was upgraded by 0.1, placing her in third position, thus taking Romania’s Barbosu out of the medal places [1].
So what’s the issue? Well, the Romanian Olympic Committee appealed the enquiry to CAS. The appeal was successful, resulting in Chiles losing her bronze medal and Barbosu regaining the medal. This article will examine the appeal and explain the key legal points.
What is CAS?
Founded in 1984, CAS Court of Arbitration for Sport) is an independent institution that settles sport-related disputes. The court is trusted to resolve all sports legal disputes through arbitral awards, which have the same effect as judgements of ordinary courts [2].
Any individual or legal entity with the capacity to act may bring actions to CAS. This includes (but is not limited to) athletes, clubs and federations, as seen with the Romanian Olympic committee bringing their case regarding Barbosu to CAS [3].
Key Legislation
The rules that governed the decision were the FIG (Fédération International De Gymnastique) Technical Regulations 2024. Article 8.5 states that an enquiry, for the difficulty score, can be made no later than one minute after the score is shown on the scoreboard ‘for the last gymnast or group of rotation’ [4]. Importantly, the person who receives the enquiry has to record the time of receiving it.
Why was Romania Successful?
CAS ruled that the enquiry was submitted four seconds too late. As the enquiry was outside the permitted time, Jordan Chiles’ original score of 13.666 from 13.766 was reinstated [5].
Coach Cecile Landi submitted the enquiry one minute and four seconds after Chiles’ score was officially displayed on the scoreboard. CAS ruled that the wording of article 8.5 was unambiguous, and thus, there was no flexibility [6]. As a result, Chiles was ordered to hand the bronze medal back to Ana Barbosu.
Ana Barbosu had scored 13.700 and dramatically had her bronze medal snatched from her. The ordeal even led to the Romanian Prime Minster calling it a scandalous situation and threatening to boycott the closing ceremony [7].
Can Jordan Chiles Appeal?
USA Gymnastics did appeal, supposedly providing evidence to CAS that coach Landi appealed Chiles’ score 13 seconds before the deadline[8]. If true, this would mean that Chiles’ upgraded score of 13.766 should remain. However, CAS rules state that arbitral awards cannot be reconsidered, even when conclusive new evidence is presented [9].
USA Gymnastics is set to explore every avenue possible to try to help Chiles regain the bronze medal stripped from her. This will be a hot topic in the world of gymnastics as CAS's decision may potentially be overturned.
Conclusion
It’s never nice when sporting outcomes are decided off the field. However, regulations are in place for a reason, and athletes and their federations must be selfish and do what’s best for them, no matter how brutal the outcome can be for the unfortunate party.
Jordan Chiles does not deserve the abuse she has received on social media. Imagine dedicating four years to training for the Olympics and then winning a bronze medal, only for it to be stripped because of four seconds. I'm sure she'll come back stronger in her home Olympics.
References
[1] Chiles stripped of bronze as online abuse condemned, BBC Sport, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/articles/c1d73g2glr0o (last accessed 24 August 2024).
[2] Frequently Asked Questions, CAS, https://www.tas-cas.org/en/general-information/frequently-asked-questions.html (last accessed 24 August 2024).
[3] Note 2.
[4] FIG (Fédération International De Gymnastique) Technical Regulations 2024, Article 8.5, https://www.gymnastics.sport/publicdir/rules/files/en_1.1%20-%20Technical%20Regulations%202024.pdf(last accessed 24 August 2024).
[5] CAS, CAS OG 24/15 Federation Romanian Gymnastics and Ana Bărbosu v. Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) and Donatella Sacchi Press Release, https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Media_Release_ParisOG_15-16__full_award_pub_.pdf(last accessed 24 August 2024).
[6] Note 5.
[7] Note 1.
[8] Jordan Chiles must return bronze medal after USA Gymnastics appeal fails, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/aug/13/jordan-chiles-must-return-bronze-medal-after-usa-gymnastics-appeal-fails(last accessed 26 August 2024).
[9] Note 8.