U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles must return her bronze medal in the floor exercise, the International Olympic Committee said Sunday, upholding findings that a coach’s appeal that got her on the podium shouldn’t have been allowed.
Chiles, 23, had initially finished fifth in the competition on Monday before U.S. coach Cecile Landi successfully lobbied that her difficulty score had been undercredited.
Officials on the scene agreed and adjusted Chiles’ score by 0.1 points to 13.766, which boosted her above two Romanian athletes, triggering an angry reaction from that delegation.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he’d refuse to attend the closing ceremony in protest.
The IOC said Sunday it would abide by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that Landi’s protest was made 64 seconds after scores were posted. The deadline for such action is one minute.
Chiles was the victim of some bad luck, as well, because she went last in the floor exercise final, so she had only one minute to file an inquiry about her score.