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Jordan Chiles takes fight over Olympic bronze medal to Swiss high court

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Jordan Chiles takes fight over Olympic bronze medal to Swiss high court

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The fight over Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal is not over yet.

Chiles’ attorneys announced Monday that they have filed a formal appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal over the results in the women’s floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics − asking the tribunal to overturn an earlier ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that effectively knocked Chiles off the podium.

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 Anna Barbosu of Romania, the gymnast who was elevated to third after the CAS ruling.

“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?” attorney Maurice Suh said in a statement. “The answer to that question should be no. Every part of the Olympics, including the arbitration process, should stand for fair play.”

The statement also said Chiles plans to file an additional petition “seeking additional and alternative relief from the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.”

“Both briefs could result in a retrial of this matter before CAS in order to allow her — for the first time — to prepare a defense and present evidence, including the video footage showing that her coach’s scoring inquiry was submitted on time,” the statement said.

Chiles’ appeal to the tribunal, which is the highest court in Switzerland, marks a significant and relatively rare step. CAS is designed to be the final arbiter of any legal disputes in international sports, so it often has the final word on cases like this one, which was initially filed by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation against the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

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. 

Chiles’ attorneys said in a news release that they are appealing the CAS ruling because it was “procedurally deficient” in two ways. They argue that the American gymnast’s fundamental “right to be heard” was violated when CAS declined to consider new video evidence, obtained after the hearing, that shows her inquiry was submitted on time. And they also say the CAS hearing was unfair because Chiles was not informed that the president of the arbitration panel that heard the case, Hamid Gharavi, has “a serious conflict of interest,” having represented Romania in other proceedings.

“Given these undeniable deficiencies, Chiles asks the Federal Supreme Court to reinstate the score that she rightfully earned at the floor event final,” law firms Gibson Dunn and Homburger AG said in the news release.

The law firms said Chiles’ appeal was accompanied by a letter of support from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which has repeatedly criticized CAS’ handling of the case − specifically with regards to the timeline. 

While CAS attempted to notify all of the relevant parties of the dispute on August 6, the USOPC and national governing body USA Gymnastics have said they were not informed about the case until three days later − and less than 24 hours before the hearing was scheduled to begin. The early notices about the case were sent to incorrect email addresses, USA Gymnastics has said. 

The governing bodies have also lamented CAS’ decision not to consider the aforementioned video footage, which they say was discovered after the CAS hearing but conclusively proves that Chiles’ inquiry was submitted on time. CAS declined to re-open the case and consider the new video evidence.

“In collaboration with Jordan’s counsel and USA Gymnastics, we are pursuing a coordinated approach, with Jordan’s team handling the initial appeal,” the USOPC said in a statement. “Due to the egregious errors and oversight by CAS in handling the case and overlooking clear evidence of Jordan’s rightful bronze win, we are determined to ensure she receives the recognition she deserves. Our commitment to truth in this matter remains steadfast.”

USA Gymnastics said it supported Chiles’ appeal and will continue to work with her legal team.

“We will make  supportive filings with the court in the continued pursuit of justice for Jordan,” USAG said in a statement.

The dispute itself revolves around slim margins – namely one tenth of a point in the floor exercise final, which is the difference between Chiles or Barbosu earning bronze.

Chiles and her coaches believed the 23-year-old was not given full credit for her split leap, known as a tour jete full. Cecile Landi, who was Chiles’ personal coach as well as coach of the U.S. team in Paris, filed what’s known as an inquiry, triggering a review of that element’s scoring. It was successful, and Chiles was credited with an additional 0.10 points, giving her the bronze and knocking Barbosu, 18, off the podium.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation later took the matter to CAS, arguing that the inquiry had been filed four seconds past the allotted one-minute deadline. CAS agreed and ordered FIG to revise the order of finish in the event, which prompted the IOC to ask Chiles to return her bronze medal.

The CAS ruling in question was filed by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and Barbosu against FIG and Donatella Sacchi, the president of FIG’s technical committee for women’s gymnastics. While Chiles, the USOPC and USAG were not named in the dispute, they were involved in the arbitral process as “interested parties,” according to CAS.

Chiles spoke about the ordeal publicly for the first time last week, saying during an appearance at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit that her “heart was broken” by the process. The International Gymnastics Federation acknowledged during the CAS hearing that it did not have a mechanism in place to show if inquiries were submitted in time and accepted Chiles’ because it assumed it had been.

Yet Chiles was the one penalized, through no fault of her own. That is why she’s continuing to fight, Chiles said last week.

“At this rate, it’s not really about the medal,” she said. “It’s about my peace and my justice.”

Follow the reporters on social media @Tom_Schad and @nrarmour.

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