Association hits back

Medal turmoil continues! Dispute over four seconds

Jordan Chiles (right) was stripped of his bronze medal. The result is a bizarre dispute.

(Bild: AP)

US gymnast Jordan Chiles is still fighting for her disallowed bronze medal - and the federation is now hitting back. Did Chiles lose her medal because she complained four seconds too late? ...

The US National Olympic Committee has announced an appeal against the ruling of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that stripped gymnast Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal on floor exercise. It is firmly convinced that there were "critical errors" in both the initial evaluation by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process, which must be rectified, it said in a statement on Sunday.

Romania successful with appeal - bronze to Ana Barbosu
The CAS had previously upheld an appeal by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. The appeal disputed the fact that the application for a subsequent change to Chile's score had been submitted too late - namely by four seconds. The CAS ad hoc chamber agreed with the argument and determined that Chile's original score of 13.666 points should be reinstated. As a result of this decision, Ana Barbosu from Romania moved up to third place with 13.700 points. Following the US team's appeal against Chiles' score, the jury had decided to recognize one of the 23-year-old's elements and adjust the difficulty score upwards after reviewing the video recordings. The decision was only made on August 5 after the placings had been announced. At this point, Barbosu had already celebrated her third place in the hall with the national flag over her shoulder.

US Gymnastics Federation hits back
Now the American Gymnastics Federation has spoken out again with an official statement. The federation claims to have submitted the application for review on time and within the prescribed deadline. "The time-stamped video evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics on Sunday evening shows that an inquiry was first made at the inquiry table 47 seconds after the result was posted, followed by a second inquiry 55 seconds after the result was originally posted," the gymnastics federation claims.

No video footage would have been available before then, so it would not have been possible to submit the request earlier. It remains to be seen whether the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will react - or even revise its decision. One thing is certain: The medal frenzy continues even after the Olympic closing ceremony.