American gymnast Jordan Chiles lost the bronze medal she had won in the floor final on Monday at the 2024 Olympic Games following the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Saturday evening.
The American press reacted strongly to this harsh measure imposed by the Swiss sports tribunal, and in the meantime, they have found a scapegoat.
Journalists held the gymnast's coach, namely Cecile Landi, accountable. It should be noted beforehand that Jordan Chiles filed a protest in the floor final immediately after her first score was displayed, a protest quickly accepted by the jury panel, who then placed her above Ana Maria Bărbosu, who had held the bronze medal in her hands for a few tens of seconds.
However, the judges in Lausanne annulled the result of the American's protest on the grounds that it was filed four seconds later than the stipulated one-minute regulatory time: "Cecile Landi's ignorance cost Jordan Chiles the Olympic bronze in the heated controversy in gymnastics. Cecile Landi made a mistake that cost Team USA an Olympic medal. Landi, who is the head coach of the gymnasts, is seen as one of the best coaches of all time. However, when the controversy deepened regarding Jordan Chiles, it was discovered that Landi had made a mistake. According to the IOC regulations, a gymnast has 3-4 minutes to file a protest.
However, the regulation changes regarding the last gymnast to compete. They only have one minute to contest the judges' score. This is where Cecile Landi went wrong. According to the CAS statement, it was found that Chiles was four seconds late in filing the protest. For the uninitiated, a protest can only be filed by the accredited coach, who in this case was Cecile Landi. It seems she miscalculated and was four seconds late," as reported in detail by the Americans at essentiallysports.com.
Following the CAS decision, the International Gymnastics Federation confirmed the new ranking, so Romania receives the bronze through Ana Maria Bărbosu, our 9th medal here at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the first for Romanian gymnastics at the Olympics in 12 years.
D.A.