American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of the bronze medal she won in Monday’s women’s floor final.
The International Gymnastics Federation (Fig) confirmed Romania’s Ana Barbosu has been upgraded from fourth to third after a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
CAS upheld an appeal by the Romanian Olympic Committee that an inquiry submitted by the US team about Chiles’ score fell outside the one-minute limit for such appeals and should be disregarded.
Chiles’ original score has now been reinstated, dropping her back into fifth place.
USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said they were “devastated” by the decision and condemned the “consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks” that Chiles has received on social media during the appeal process.
Chiles, 23, who won gold in the women’s team event, posted four broken heart emojis on her Instagram story and later wrote: “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.”
Chiles initially scored 13.666 in Monday’s final, putting her in fifth place in the competition and leading Romanian gymnast Barbosu, who scored 13.7, to believe she had won the bronze medal.
However, after the inquiry by Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi with regard to her difficulty rating, officials upgraded Chiles’ score to 13.766, placing her third.
The adjustment left Barbosu, who had begun celebrating her medal, upset and led to a protest from the Romanian team.
Romania’s prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, called it a “scandalous situation” and threatened to boycott the closing ceremony.
The Romanian Olympic Committee successfully appealed to Cas on the grounds the inquiry was “untimely” as it had been submitted four seconds after the one minute time limit.
CAS reinstated Chiles’ score of 13.666 on Saturday, which was later confirmed by Fig.
Man Utd hopeful of agreeing new deal with Fernandes
Manchester United are hopeful of agreeing a new contract with skipper Bruno Fernandes over the next few weeks.
The midfielder’s current deal, which he signed in 2022, expires in 2026.
It is possible an announcement could be made before the transfer window closes on 30 August, but the main focus of United’s hierarchy at present is on concluding deals that have to meet that deadline.
Fernandes replaced Harry Maguire as club captain in 2023 and Erik ten Hag has kept faith in the midfielder, despite coming under intense criticism at times from former United skippers Gary Neville and Roy Keane.
The 29-year-old was not placed among the ‘untouchables’ United were unwilling to listen to offers for this summer.
However, a sale was always likely to be based on a bid the club found impossible to turn down, which has not materialised.
Fernandes cast doubt on his future at Old Trafford before May’s FA Cup final, saying he wanted his own expectations to fit those of the club as a whole.
The midfielder played 90 minutes on Saturday as United were beaten on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the Community Shield against Manchester City.
United are close to completing the double signing of central defender Matthijs de Ligt and full-back Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.
In addition to the arrivals of Leny Yoro from Lille and striker Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna, that would take United’s spending this summer to almost £140m.
