ANA BARBOSU LEARNS WHEN SHE'LL GET HER OLYMPIC BRONZE FROM JORDAN CHILES - EVEN AS USA GYMNASTICS FIGHT COURT RULING
Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu will receive the bronze medal for her floor routine at the Paris Olympics on Friday in a ceremony in the capital city of Bucharest.
The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee announced Tuesday that Barbosu will have the disputed medal presented to her by Octavian Morariu, a member of the International Olympic Committee for Romania, and by Mihai Covaliu, president of the national committee.
Meanwhile, USA Gymnastics continues to forge ahead with its fight to allow American gymnast Jordan Chiles to retain the medal, which was presented to her after the floor exercise in individual competition on Aug. 5.
Chiles won the bronze in women's floor exercise in Paris when her coach submitted an inquiry to challenge the judges' initial score and her score was corrected from 13.666 to 13.766. Chiles moved into third place, passing Romanians Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.
Romania took its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), saying that the United States' inquiry was not made within the one-minute window stated in the rules. Romania argued that the Americans missed that time limit by four seconds.
The CAS on Saturday ruled in favor of Romania and ordered Chiles' bronze medal to be reallocated to Barbosu, who was tied at 13.7 with her countrywoman but had a higher execution score.
However, the U.S. later countered it had video evidence that coach Cecile Landi made the appeal 47 seconds after Chiles' initial score was posted, well within the time limit. That wasn't enough for the CAS to reassess.
Now, USA Gymnastics is appealing to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland after CAS rejected the request to revisit the case.
The organization also said on its Instagram on Tuesday: 'As we continue to celebrate the successes of Team USA gymnasts on social media, know that we are still working full-time to pursue justice for Jordan.'
It is not clear whether Chiles has returned the medal to the International Olympic Committee, so it's therefore unknown whether Barbosu will receive the one Chiles had in her possession or a duplicate.
Barbosu sent Chiles a message of support on Instagram over the weekend after the CAS ruling became public.
'Sabrina [Maneca-Voinea - whose place was also changed due to the appeals], Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling, because I've been through the same.
'But I know you'll come back stronger. I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share [the] same podium. That is my true dream!
'This situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation. We, athletes are not to be blamed, and the hate directed to us is painful.
'I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world.'
Chiles herself posted three broken-heart emojis when the news emerged on Saturday and said she was taking a break from social media.
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