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Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles has confirmed that the bronze medal she earned at the 2024 Paris Games is still in her possession despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) officially stripping her of the placement.
During the gymnastics floor final, Chiles initially posted a score of 13.666, falling short of Romanian Ana Barbosu's score of 13.700. However, Chiles' coaches challenged her difficulty score, which added 0.1 to her total and earned her the bronze medal.
Barbosu's team later lodged a complaint that the U.S. didn't make its inquiry into Chile's score within the one-minute deadline. The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) then ruled in favor of Romania, reinstating Chiles' original score of 13.666 and stripping her of the bronze medal.
The U.S. attempted to appeal the CAS' decision with video evidence that its inquiry was requested before the one-minute cut-off time. However, CAS declined to reconsider its ruling.
Chiles is now appealing CAS' decision to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland.
The gymnastics star confirmed on a recent episode on Candace Parker's podcast that she still physically owns the bronze medal, despite the official results showing she placed fifth.
"Whatever happens with the bronze, it's still a bronze in my head," Chiles said on "The Trophy Room" podcast. "It's still a bronze in my heart. I still have the medal if anybody is asking.
"I can't really continue on my life with having something so small but so big in the world carry in my heart for the rest of my life. I can't let that happen," she continued. "So now I'm enjoying life. I'm at UCLA. I'm doing everything that I can. I get to enjoy the support now.''
The gymnast admitted that she struggled to accept the outpouring of support she received from fans last summer amid controversy over her medal.
However, now "I love it," Chiles said.
"Thank you guys all for the support. Thank you guys for always being there. Thank you guys for giving me this ability to enjoy my sport again, enjoy competing again, and enjoy being able to stand on my own two feet and be proud of what I've accomplished."'
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