PARIS — Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu could replace Jordan Chiles as Olympic bronze medalist after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the appeal of the American coach who had put her on the podium.
The CAS ruled that Cecile Landi’s appeal to add 0.1 to Chiles’ score, which moved her from fifth to third, occurred outside the one-minute time limit allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
In its decision, the CAS wrote that the original order of positions should be restored, with Barbosu in third, her teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea in fourth and Chiles in fifth.
The organization said the FIG should determine the final classification “in accordance with the previous decision,” but it left it in their hands to decide who would win a medal after gold winner, Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, and silver medalist Simone Biles, from the United States.
FIG spokeswoman Meike Behrensen said in an email to The Associated Press that a statement from the organization would be released “in due course”.
The Romanian Olympic Committee had asked for the three bronze medals to be awarded.
Chiles published a message in which she mentioned that she would step down from social networks “for my mental health”.
The US Gymnastics Federation said in a statement that it was “devastated” by the decision.
Chiles, 23, became the center of controversy on social media, with many critics calling on her to return the medals. Others directed racist comments at her.
The gymnast posted on X earlier this week that “it’s weird how people still can’t be happy for someone”.