Jordan Chiles Reflected On Her Bronze Medal Battle 1 Year Later

One of the biggest battles of the 2024 Paris Olympics remains unresolved. After Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles was awarded the bronze medal in the women’s floor exercise final, she was stripped of the prize through a court appeal. The legal battle is ongoing, and Chiles marked the one-year anniversary of her medal win with a bittersweet message on Aug. 5.

Jordan’s Olympic Roller Coaster

During the women’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise final in Paris, Chiles initially finished in fifth place. However, her coach Cecile Landi submitted an inquiry to challenge the difficulty score she was awarded, and the judges gave her an extra 0.1 points after the review. That was enough to put Chiles in third and be awarded the bronze medal — at least temporarily. The issue at the crux of the legal battle in the year since has been whether or not Landi requested the inquiry within the one-minute deadline.

“A year ago today I walked off the floor in Paris with a bronze medal-and lessons I’ll carry with me for life,” Chiles wrote on Instagram on Aug. 5.

“The hardest moments really do teach you the most. This year had its highs, but the lows hit different.”

Chiles then shared what she’s gained from the nightmare experience. “Every setback and every disappointment made me dig deeper and showed me what I’m truly made of. It also showed me who’s really in my corner,” she added.

“Even when something’s taken from you- your truth and your worth is...Untouchable.”

Finally, Chiles thanked her supporters for helping her through such a difficult time. “To everyone who held me down this past year, who sent prayers, messages, and love when I needed it most- you reminded me I’m never on this journey alone,” she wrote. “I love y’all for real. You kept me standing when I didn’t even know how to take the next step.”

Signing off, she wrote, “Still here. Still fighting. Still that girl.”

Jordan’s Ongoing Appeal

The legal battle kicked off soon after Chile received her bronze medal. The Romanian Olympic Committee submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in which they argued that Landi’s inquiry request came in 4 seconds after the one-minute deadline and was therefore invalid. CAS agreed, making Romania’s Ana Barbosu the bronze medalist. But to make matters even more complicated, footage from the Simone Biles: Rising filmmakers later appeared to show the request was made within the required timeframe. In September 2024, Chiles submitted an appeal to Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court that is still to be decided.

“My team, my family, the support system I have, we’re going to continue to make it right. At this point, it’s not really about the matter,” Chiles said at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit that month. “It’s about my peace and justice.”