Jordan Chiles ‘deserves answers’ in Olympic medal controversy

Aly Raisman, who competed for Team USA in women’s gymnastics at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, reiterated her support for Jordan Chiles amid an ongoing medal controversy, saying Chiles “deserves answers.”

“I’m so devastated for her,” Raisman told Us Weekly. “I hope things change and she gets to keep her medal because it’s not right. It’s so disappointing to me because I feel like it goes against the integrity of the sport and the Olympics.”

Following an investigation during the women’s floor final at the 2024 Olympics earlier this month, Chiles’ score was adjusted to allow for a bronze medal. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport later ruled that Team USA’s investigation was allegedly filed four seconds past the one-minute deadline.

As a result, Chiles was at risk of losing her bronze medal.

Raisman, who added that the saga is “very confusing” and “makes no sense,” also lashed out at the Court of Arbitration for Sport during an appearance on NBC’s “TODAY” show earlier this month.

“There’s a designated trained official. Their job is to keep track of the time,” Raisman told Us Weekly. “They’re not allowed to accept the test if it’s not within that one-minute window. They accepted the test, which means the person who’s trained to do it saw that it was under a minute.”

Following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling, which subsequently led to the International Olympic Committee confirming that Chiles was stripped of her bronze medal, USA Gymnastics wrote in a statement that it had provided evidence showing that head coach Cecile Landi filed the investigation after 47 seconds.

Yet USA Today Sports reported last week that there are “no plans” for Chiles to return her bronze medal, even after Romania’s Ana Barbosu — who moved up from third place when Chiles’ score was changed — was awarded a medal.

“I am at a loss for words,” Chiles wrote in a statement on social media last week, her first public comments since the controversy began. “This decision feels unjust and is a huge blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has supported my journey. To add to the sadness, the uncalled for racist attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I have put my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my country.”