The International Olympic Committee announced Thursday that Romania is allowed to award gymnast Ana Barbosu a bronze medal. This comes after United States gymnast Jordan Chiles was recently stripped of the bronze medal she originally won in the floor exercise event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"The FIG (International Gymnastics Federation) adjusted ranking is based on a final CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) award, which is binding on all the parties," the IOC told USA Today in a statement. "While a challenge in the Swiss Federal Supreme Court is still possible, the CAS award is immediately enforceable and Ms. Barbosu is entitled to receive the bronze medal."
USA Today is also reporting that Chiles still possesses the bronze medal she won. There are currently no plans for Chiles to return the medal due to the ongoing appeal process. That appeal could likely go through the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
Earlier this week, USA Gymnastics revealed the Court of Arbitration for Sport isn't going to reconsider its ruling in the scoring in the women's floor exercise competition. USA Gymnastics also stated it has video evidence that the scoring inquiry was made inside of the allowed time. The CAS stated that the inquiry was submitted four seconds beyond the one-minute deadline.
During the final routine of the floor exercise final, Chiles had been awarded a score of 13.666, which included a deduction of a tenth of a point due to an improper split leap. That score ended up putting her in fifth place behind Barbosu and fellow Romanian gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. Both Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea had tallied scores of 13.700.
Chiles' coach, Cecile Landi, submitted a formal appeal for the deduction, and the judges ended up agreeing with the appeal. Chiles' score was changed to 13.766, which vaulted her into third place ahead of Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea.
The Romanian Gymnastics Federation believed the late ruling wasn't fair, so they escalated the issue to CAS. They claimed Landi submitted the scoring inquiry four seconds past the allowed time.
The CAS added that they can't reopen the case despite video evidence being provided.
As a result of the controversy involving Chiles and Barbosu, U.S. and Romanian officials offered to award the two gymnasts separate bronze medals, but FIG declined that proposal.