Jordan Chiles appeals to Swiss court in Olympic medal saga

The fight continues in Jordan Chiles’ quest to get her Olympic bronze medal back. 

Chiles officially filed an appeal in Switzerland’s Supreme Court as she fights to get a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that stripped her of a third-place finish in the women’s gymnastics floor final overturned.

The drama over the bronze medal has lasted long after the Summer Olympics came to a close last month in Paris as the issue has exited the sporting arena and entered the legal one. 

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Chiles’ legal representation said in a press release that the American gymnast was asking the court to overturn the decision made by the CAS since issues with procedure had violated her “right to be heard” and she was not properly informed over a potential conflict of interest by the president of the CAS panel who ruled on her case. 

Hamid Gharavi had previously represented Romania, which was the country of competitor Ana Barbosu, in legal proceedings. 

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

USA Gymnastics expressed its support for the appeal in a statement of its own and the organization said that it made the “collective” and “strategic decision” for Chiles’ legal team to make the initial appeal filing. 

“USAG is closely coordinating with Jordan and her legal team and will make supportive filings with the court in the continued pursuit of justice for Jordan,” the statement said. 

The saga surrounding the bronze medal has created a drawn-out battle that has had many twists and turns. 

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Chiles had the bronze stripped by the CAS after it ruled that the score appeal that occurred during the women’s floor final had not come within the one-minute deadline and they modified the score which awarded Barbosu third place. 

American officials have raised procedural issues with how the CAS handled the hearing, including how USA Gymnastics wasn’t officially notified of Romania’s appeal for several days and the CAS failed to make contact with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee until the day before the hearing. 

The Swiss court can only hear an appeal for limited reasons based on procedural issues. 

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Chiles will file an additional appeal “seeking additional and alternative relief from the Swiss Federal Supreme Court” and both appeals could lead to a retrial in the CAS, the press release from the gymnast’s attorney indicated.