Jordan Chiles shares cryptic Instagram post about ‘healing’ amid Olympic bronze medal dispute

Jordan Chiles is apparently still ‘healing’ after being stripped of her bronze medal from the Olympic floor exercise.

The American gymnast claimed third place over Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca after an appeal from USA Gymnastics raised her score from the fifth spot that she originally finished in.

However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled days later that the Americans’ appeal was late, thus ruling it invalid and returning the bronze to Barbosu.

There are ‘no plans’ currently for Chiles to return her medal, USA officials told USA Today, though the 23-year-old is evidently still reeling from the ordeal.

On Friday night, she posted an Instagram story with a screenshot of an X post that read: ‘she’s a 10 but she’s still healing from things she didn’t deserve.’

Chiles has previously called the decision to strip her medal ‘unjust,’ while the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee also told USA Today that there were ‘significant procedural errors’ made by CAS.

According to the CAS, the Americans’ appeal was clocked at one minute and four seconds – greater than the specified window of one minute.

However, USA Gymnastics says they have evidence to back up their claim that the appeal was lodged within the time limit at 47 seconds.

Former Olympian Aly Raisman also called the CAS’ verdict ‘confusing’, and said that an appeal wouldn’t even have been accepted if it was late.

‘There’s a designated trained official. It’s their job to keep the time,’ she told Us Weekly. ‘They are not allowed to accept the inquiry if it’s not under that minute window. They accepted the inquiry, which means that the person who’s trained to do that, they saw it was under a minute.’

Raisman continued, ‘From there, the judges admitted they made a mistake with the score and raised the score. I think it’s really unfair. It’s unacceptable to me.’

Three-time gold medalist Raisman also said that Chiles should not give up her medal.

‘It’s so disappointing to me because I feel like it goes against the integrity of the sport and of the Olympics,’ she said.

‘Jordan deserves answers as to what evidence the Court of Arbitration for Sport has. It’s very confusing to me. It makes no sense. I don’t think Jordan should give her medal back.’

USA Gymnastics has expressed its profound disappointment regarding the ruling made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and has committed to contesting this decision by appealing to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland. However, it is uncommon for CAS rulings to be reversed.

The CAS also criticized what it termed ‘outrageous statements’ that appeared in certain media outlets in the United States, which suggested a conflict of interest involving its panel.

Following the decision to strip Chiles of her medal, it was revealed that Hamid G. Gharavi, the chair of the panel, had collaborated with the Romanian government for approximately a decade.

As reported by The New York Times, members of the panel are required to complete a conflict of interest declaration prior to evaluating any case.

The article indicated that Gharavi had indeed disclosed his association with the Romanian government. Furthermore, Gharavi declined to provide comments when approached by the publication.

In her previous remarks on her ‘healing’ post, Chiles expressed gratitude to her supporters.

“I am truly touched by the outpouring of love I have received in recent days. I am also deeply thankful to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, USA Gymnastics, and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee for their steadfast support during this challenging period,” Chiles stated on Instagram.

She further added, “I am at a loss for words. This decision feels profoundly unfair and represents a significant setback, not only for me but for all those who have supported my journey.”