USA Gymnastics officials say they will not reconsider an arbitration panel’s decision to order gymnast Jordan Childs to return the bronze medal she won on the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics.
USA Gymnastics said it will continue to work to help Childs retain her medal.
“USA Gymnastics received notification on Monday from the Court of Arbitration for Sport that it will not reconsider the arbitration decision even if significant new evidence is presented,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement. “We are extremely disappointed in the notification and will continue to pursue all possible avenues and appeals, including the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure Jordan’s fair scoring, ranking and medal awarding.”
CAS overruled an on-court appeal by Coach Childs that pushed her to third base, saying the appeal occurred after the one-minute, four-second time limit for scoring questions had expired.
USA Gymnastics objected to the timing of the decision on Sunday, saying it had submitted video evidence to CAS showing U.S. team coach Cecil Landy first appealed 13 seconds before the deadline.
Disputes over such minor details can lead to legal battles over gymnastics scores that can last months or even years.
The International Gymnastics Federation said Saturday night that it would respect the court’s decision and move Romania’s Ana Barbosu up to third place. The International Olympic Committee announced on Sunday that it would uphold the ruling and redistribute the medals.
CAS ruled on Saturday that Landi’s request to add 0.1 to Chiles’ score was outside the one-minute time frame. The CAS interim panel noted that Landi’s request was made 1 minute and 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted.
The IOC said it would contact the USOPC regarding the return of Chile’s bronze medal and work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss a redistribution ceremony in Barbosu’s honor. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won gold, while the United States’ Simone Biles won silver.
Appeals may be brought to the Swiss Supreme Court, the highest court in Switzerland, or to the European Court of Human Rights.
Late Monday, rapper Flavor Flav (a celebrity supporter of 2024 Olympians, including discus thrower Veronica Fraley) posted on social media platform X that he had created a potential replacement for Chile’s dazzling bronze medal while the U.S. battles “the powers that be.” The replacement is the same watch the rapper has worn for decades since his days in the group Public Enemy.
“Thank you, that’s the way the world works,” the gymnast’s mother, Gina Charles, wrote in a reply posted to her X account. “As you can imagine, I’m not on social media right now. Let me share.”
