In an attempt to reverse the decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that disqualified her from winning a bronze medal at the Olympics in Paris, Jordan Chiles has filed an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland.
Both USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee support Chiles’ appeal. USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Monday that it took the “collective, strategic decision to have Jordan lead the initial filing.” USAG will continue to support Jordan’s legal team and closely coordinates with them in order to pursue justice on her behalf.
Chiles’s coach, Cecile Landi, successfully appealed on the floor to raise Chiles’ initial score from 13.666 to 13.766, which allowed her to win the bronze in the women’s floor exercise. Chiles overtook Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea to take third position.
Romania filed a case with the CAS, claiming that the US investigation was four seconds over the one-minute time frame specified in the guidelines. The CAS decided in favor of Romania and mandated that Barbosu, who was tied with Maneca-Voinea at 13.7 but had a higher execution score, be awarded the bronze medal that Chiles had won.
With video evidence showing that Landi’s appeal was made 47 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted, the United States attempted to appeal to the Court of Appeals for Sport (CAS). The CAS declined to re-open the case.
The country’s supreme court hears appeals from any case heard by the CAS, which has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
According to Chiles’ appeal, the CAS’s refusal to take into account fresh evidence was a violation of her “right to be heard.” The appeal further alleges that the CAS panel president’s prior legal ties to Romania created a conflict of interest.
In a social media post from last month, Chiles stated that she had received “unprompted racially driven attacks on social media” and that her circumstances “feels unjust.”
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