Jordan Chiles’s Score Change and Bronze Medal Loss Explained

The final days of the Olympic Games have taken an unexpected turn for Team USA Women’s Gymnastics. In a shocking twist, two-time Olympian, Jordan Chiles has been stripped of her bronze medal, leaving many fans confused. It’s understandable, considering that you typically hear about medals being stripped due to cheating or doping allegations. Well, not this time. Chiles was stripped of the medal after back-and-forth challenges about her scores. Here’s the deal.

During the women’s floor exercise final event on Aug. 5, Team USA put on a strong showing — and so did several other gymnasts, including Rebecca Andrade with Team Brazil and Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu, who initially seemed to have won bronze.

Barbosu was already celebrating, and many spectators and commentators also seemed to move forward with the understanding that she had medaled. But at the last minute, the scoreboard numbers were revised. Chiles’s score leapt from 13.600 to 13.766, beating out Barbosu’s 13.700 and catapulting Chiles from fifth place to third, leading to gymnastics’ first all-Black podium (Rebecca Andrade in first, Simone Biles in second, and Chiles in third). But the score change left many people wondering: “Wait — what just happened, exactly?”

Let us explain: After the scores were released, the Team USA Gymnastics coaches submitted an inquiry to have Chiles’s score reexamined on the basis that one of the moves she’d performed actually deserved a higher difficulty score. (A reminder about how gymnastics is scored can be found here but briefly: both the difficulty of a particular move and its execution count toward a gymnast’s overall score.)

The move in question was a split leap skill with a 1.5 turn, also referred to as a Gogean. In her original score it hadn’t been credited, per NBC. But, after further review, Chiles was given full scores for the technique — and that nudged her up into third place. While the score change was shocking to spectators — and Barbosu herself — its well within the rules.

Per the Code of Points for USA Gymnastics, “A coach may inquire verbally about the Difficulty Score to the chief D Judge immediately following the posting of the score or before the completion of the performance of the next gymnast. D Panel will conduct a video review, if necessary. If there is still a question, a written inquiry must be submitted to the chair of the Superior Jury by the start of the next rotation. A financial fee accompanies the inquiry, which is returned if the inquiry proves correct. If not, the fee is donated to the FIG Foundation.” According to Yahoo, the coaches shelled out $351.10 to submit an official inquiry for the judges to double-check Chiles’ score.

Since the initial event, the score change has been the topic of much debate, particularly with protests from Romania. On Aug. 11, the International Olympic Committee deemed that Chiles must return the bronze medal won for the individual floor exercise, reported by NBC. The inquiry submitted by Team USA was determined to be too late by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who reverted back to the original scoring, and stating that the inquiry from the US was four seconds past the one-minute deadline. Team USA Gymnastics has submitted evidence to counter this claim, including a video with a time-stamp, filing the inquiry in 47 seconds, per Reuters. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee intends to appeal the ruling, per the New York Times. Since this situation occurred, Chiles has decided to remove herself from social media, to focus on her mental health, as posted on her Instagram story.

Sadly, it remains to be seen what the next steps will be for Chiles regarding this medal controversy. But fellow athletes and celebrities have offered up their solidarity and support. “Sending you so much love Jordan,” Biles posted on her Instagram Story. “Keep your chin up olympic champ! We love you!” Other team mates, like Suni Lee, have also spoken out. “All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?? Completely unacceptable. This is awful and I’m gutted for Jordan,” Lee wrote on her Instagram Story. “I got your back forever Jo. You have all my flowers and you will ALWAYS be an Olympic champion.💐”

Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman shared her thoughts on the matter, too. “I can’t even imagine what this past week has been like for Jordan and the other athletes involved. This is completely devastating. I don’t think people realize these gymnasts work their entire lives for this moment, and it’s supposed to be a celebration,” Raisman said during an interview with Today. “I think it’s so unfair. It’s so cruel. And I don’t think that Jordan should have to give her medal back. The IOC has given more than one medal before, and I think that they should do that now.” With good intentions, rapper Flava Flav has even offered to make Jordan a bronze clock necklace in response to the upsetting news.

While a kind gesture from Flav, it’s pretty hard to beat the real bronze medal — especially when you’ve held it in your hands. In a post-interview with NBC sports correspondent, Zora Stephenson, Chiles — almost voiceless from a non-stop week — said that the bronze medal means “everything” to her, adding that competing in the individual floor event was part of her own “redemption tour.”

Jade Esmeralda, MS, CSCS, is a health and fitness staff writer. A lifelong martial artist and dancer, Jade has a strong passion for strength and conditioning, sports science, and human performance. She graduated with a Master of Science degree in exercise science and strength and conditioning from George Washington University.