American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been granted a new opportunity to challenge the decision that stripped her of the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Switzerland’s highest court ruled there is enough cause to proceed with Chile’s challenge of the decision. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled that Chiles’ appeal should be sent back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which had previously upheld a decision to invalidate her medal. New evidence presented to examine whether the inquiry submitted by Chiles’ coach during the women’s floor exercise final was filed within the required time limit will be permitted
.In its ruling, the Swiss Federal Tribunal said the case should be reconsidered because newly submitted audio and video evidence could demonstrate that the inquiry was made on time. The court determined the evidence was not fully examined during the original arbitration process.
“la base ă di una registrazione audiovisiva scoperta dopo il lodo emanato dal TAS, il Tribunale
federale riconosce che questa nuova prova è suscettibile di giustificare una modifica
della decisione attaccata.”
Translation: Based on an audiovisual recording discovered after the award issued by the CAS, the Federal Court acknowledges that this new evidence is capable of justifying a modification of the contested decision.
In a statement, USA Gymnastics said it supports Chiles’s appeal and welcomes “a fair arbitration,” CBS reported.
“USA Gymnastics will continue to support the efforts of Jordan and her team to retain her bronze medal in the 2024 Olympic women’s floor exercise,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement. “We look forward to a fair arbitration that includes the clear evidence proving the inquiry into Jordan’s score was filed well within 1 minute as required by FIG rules.”
Similarly, Chiles’s attorney, Maurice M. Suh, said he was pleased by the opportunity to prove Chiles is, indeed, the proper 2024 Bronze medalist.
“We are delighted that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has righted a wrong and given Jordan the chance she deserves to reclaim her bronze medal,” Suh said in a statement. “We appreciate that Jordan will receive a full and fair opportunity to defend her bronze medal.”
At the Paris Olympics, Chiles finished third in the women’s floor exercise final after her score was raised following a coach’s inquiry. Days later, CAS ruled the inquiry was submitted four seconds after the one-minute deadline. Due to claims that the inquiry was late, Chiles’s appeal was invalidated, and the judging body reinstated her original score. The bronze medal was reassigned to Romanian gymnast Ana Maria Bărbosu.
Chiles has not publicly commented since the latest ruling, but the decision marks a rare procedural reopening in an Olympic medal dispute. If CAS rules in her favor, the bronze medal could be restored nearly two years after the Paris Games concluded.
The outcome of the rehearing remains pending, and CAS has not announced a timeline for issuing a new decision.
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