Jordan Chiles’ Olympic bronze stripped by IOC after CAS ruling on four-second mistake

American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been sensationally stripped of her bronze medal after a fatal four-second mistake was punished five days after the fact.

Chiles finished fifth in the individual floor exercise final behind two Romanians — Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea — before being promoted soon after when her team successfully protested her score, but it has now been revealed they missed the one-minute deadline to submit the inquiry.

Romania appealed the final standings to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on that basis, while also seeking to overturn a Maneca-Voinea deduction.

Incredibly, the country requested that the rankings were adjusted so Chiles, Maneca-Voinea and Barbosu could share the third position and each receive a bronze medal.

In the end Barbosu is the only official bronze medallist after the CAS judgement set off a series of events with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The panel sided with Romania on the claim that the Chiles inquiry was submitted four seconds after the deadline and was therefore invalid, reducing her score to 13.666 — below Barbosu’s 13.766 and Maneca-Voinea’s 13.700.

It threw out Romania’s bid to overturn the Maneca-Voinea deduction and the attempt to award bronze to all three gymnasts, declaring the rankings should be set by the FIG according to the scores as laid out by the decision.

The FIG confirmed Chiles’ score had been adjusted, with Barbosu now sitting in third, but appeared to take a stand on the controversial situation.

“Reallocation of medals is the responsibility of the IOC,” the governing body said.

The International Olympic Committee has since confirmed it will contact US officials to ensure Chiles returns the medal and discuss a fitting ceremony with Romania to deliver bronze to Barbosu.

Chiles, who won team gold in Paris prior to the individual event, posted an emoji of a broken heart and issued a short statement on Instagram.

“I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you,” she wrote.

Chiles and her bronze medal were already back in the United States after leaving Paris in recent days.

“Sending you so much love Jordan. Keep your chin up ‘Olympic champ’, we love you,” teammate Simone Biles said.

USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee said they were “devastated” by the decision.

“The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the statement said.

“Throughout the appeal process, Jordan has been subject to consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media. No athlete should be subject to such treatment. We condemn the attacks and those who engage, support or instigate them.

“We commend Jordan for conducting herself with integrity both on and off the competition floor, and we continue to stand by and support her.”

Chiles celebrated her podium finish alongside silver medallist Biles, with the two Americans bowing down to gold medallist Rebeca Andrade on the dais in a moment now subdued by the rulings.

The bronze saga turned political in the days after the final when the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he planned to boycott the closing ceremony.

“I decided not to attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, following the scandalous situation in the gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonorable manner,” Ciolacu wrote on Facebook.

“To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal, which neither the coaches nor the top technicians understand, is totally unacceptable!”

He swiftly reacted to the CAS ruling and FIG statement.

“Justice has been served! Bravo, Ana Maria, it is the natural reward of a performance for which you have worked for so many years!” Ciolacu wrote.

“I’m glad that, in the end, the truth prevailed, as it should be in a competition that is based on the values of Olympism.

“There remains a shadow of sadness because Sabrina Voinea does not benefit from the same decision. But for me and I think that for every Romanian, Sabrina remains a winner!

“Because through all her dignified and beautiful attitude she demonstrated to the whole world that the Romanians are aware of their value and that they know how to fight for it!

“I think this is an important lesson our Olympic gymnasts pass on to us — to never give up fighting when we know we’re right!”

Barbosu, 18, said she has no issues with Chiles when speaking before the CAS decision.

“I only want for everybody to be fair, we don’t want to start picking on other athletes of any nationality,” Barbosu said upon returning to Romania in recent days.

“We as athletes don’t deserve something like that, we only want to perform as best as we can and to be rewarded based on our performance.

“The problems lie with the judges, with their calculations and decisions.”