USA Gymnastics is joining Jordan Chiles in her fight to reclaim her bronze medal from the floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Chiles and USA Gymnastics filed separate appeals Tuesday with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, with both asking that the case be re-opened and the Court of Arbitration for Sport be ordered to consider new video evidence. This follows a previous appeal Chiles filed last week, which asked that the CAS decision that resulted in her being stripped of her medal on the final day of the Paris Games be set aside.
The Americans are asking for all the filings to be considered together, given they all make the same central argument: Chiles was not given a full and fair opportunity to defend herself.
‘We believe that CAS must consider the complete audio and video record that shows that Jordan without doubt followed all the rules on the floor and in her inquiry. Failing to do so would be fundamentally unfair and unjust,’ Maurice M. Suh, Chiles’ U.S.-based attorney, said in the statement.
What is in the new filings?
Chiles’ attorneys say, and USA Gymnastics agrees, that the CAS ruling was based on a ‘critical factual error’ that her scoring inquiry was filed four seconds too late. If the case is going to be decided ‘fairly and accurately,’ they said, CAS needs to consider video and audio evidence showing Chiles filed her scoring inquiry in time.
The new filing by Chiles’ attorneys makes similar arguments to their previous appeal filed last week, which asked the Swiss Federal Tribunal to set aside the CAS ruling. But USA Gymnastics gives a detailed explanation for why the video, which clearly shows coach Cecile Landi making a verbal inquiry twice within the 60 seconds allowed by International Gymnastics Federation rules, wasn’t part of the CAS hearing.
Chiles, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee didn’t learn of Romania’s appeal until Aug. 9, less than 24 hours before the CAS hearing. CAS was asked to postpone the hearing but refused, so it was a mad scramble just for the Americans to hire attorneys, digest the case and craft a response.
But on Aug. 10, while the hearing was going on, USA Gymnastics did reach out to NBC to see if there was footage that would help confirm when Landi made the inquiry, according to the appeal document. That led to filmmakers from Religion of Sports, which is making a Simone Biles documentary, uncovering both video and audio on Aug. 11 that confirm Landi made two inquiries, at 47 and 55 seconds, within 60 seconds.
USA Gymnastics asked CAS to re-open the case, citing the new evidence, but CAS refused, saying it was too late.
‘The audiovisual evidence which CAS refused to consider clearly proves Jordan’s bronze-medal finish in Paris was correct,’ USA Gymnastics said in a statement. ‘With today’s filing, we are simply asking that the CAS arbitration be decided based on a true and accurate understanding of facts. As Jordan has publicly stated, the case at this point is about her peace and justice, and the right of all athletes to be treated fairly.’
Why did Chiles file two appeals?
The new filing by Chiles’ attorneys makes similar arguments to their previous appeal filed last week, which asked the Swiss Federal Tribunal to set aside the CAS ruling. But they had to be made separately for procedural reasons, because Chiles’ team maintains there are lingering questions over when the CAS ruling went into effect.
The video footage that shows coach Landi making two verbal inquiries before the 60-second deadline was discovered after CAS announced its ruling Aug. 10 but before it announced a detailed explanation of the decision Aug.14. Chiles’ lawyers are arguing that the footage either constitutes new evidence, if the decision went into effect Aug. 10, or was unfairly ignored by CAS, if the decision wasn’t final until Aug. 14.
What did the first filing cover?
In that filing, submitted Sept. 16, Chiles’ attorneys cited three flaws in the process. In addition to CAS ignoring the newly uncovered evidence, Chiles said:
- She, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee did not have enough time to prepare for the CAS hearing, less than 24 hours, because CAS was sending emails to wrong or outdated addresses. This despite CAS and the USOPC being in communication during the Paris Olympics related to an Aug. 7 ceremony where U.S. figure skaters finally got their medals from the team competition at the 2022 Beijing Games.
- The president of the arbitration panel has represented the Romanian government in financial disputes since 2016, including in at least two cases that are ongoing. Though Hamid Gharavi disclosed the relationship and promised to be independent, the Americans did not even know about the potential conflict of interest until several days after the hearing.
What happened in Paris?
Chiles was moved into third place after challenging the judges’ score of one of the elements in her routine, then bumped back down to fifth days later after CAS ruled the challenge was submitted four seconds too late. The International Olympic Committee has since asked Chiles to return her bronze medal and awarded one to Ana Barbosu of Romania, the gymnast who was elevated to third after the CAS ruling.
The Swiss tribunal usually overturns CAS decisions only in cases where there was a blatant procedural violation, lack of jurisdiction or incompatibility with Swiss public policy. But Chiles’ attorney said after her initial filing that the CAS decision casts doubt on the entire arbitration process.
‘Jordan Chiles’ appeals present the international community with an easy legal question − will everyone stand by while an Olympic athlete who has done only the right thing is stripped of her medal because of fundamental unfairness in an ad-hoc arbitration process?’ Suh said in a statement last week. ‘The answer to that question should be no. Every part of the Olympics, including the arbitration process, should stand for fair play.’
What happens now?
The Swiss Federal Tribunal will either confirm the original CAS ruling, effectively ending Chiles’ fight, or it will send the case back to CAS. It will not declare Chiles the rightful bronze medalist.
The proceedings are expected to take several months.