Ana Bărbosu has spoken out after reclaiming a bronze medal from American gymnast Jordan Chiles.
The Romanian gymnast had initially earned the medal during the women's artistic gymnastics floor exercise final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Following an appeal from Team USA to revise Chiles' difficulty score however, the judges corrected Chiles' D-score from a 5.8 to 5.9 subsequently moving her up to third place and earning her the bronze medal instead.
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In the aftermath, the Romanian Olympic and Sport Committee contested the decision made at the final and sent a formal letter of protest to the International Gymnastics Federation requesting for another revision of the scoring.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ultimately reversed the appeal made by Team USA at the final, saying that their inquiry on Chiles' score was made four seconds outside of the one-minute window appeals are allowed to be made.
As a result, Team USA's appeal has been disregarded and Chiles' bronze medal has been taken away and given back to Bărbosu.
Taking to her Instagram Story, Bărbosu spoke up on the controversial situation and shared: "Sabrina [Maneca-Voinea, Bărbosu's teammate], 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 same podium. This 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," she added.
"I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world," the gymnast signed off while tagging Chiles in the post.
Following CAS' decision to reverse Team USA's appeal, Chiles posted a succinct message on her Instagram Story, writing: "I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you."
USA Gymnastics also released a statement on Twitter today (August 12), sharing: "We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan [Chiles]."
Top 10 performing Olympic nations
- USA - 126 medals (40 gold)
- China - 91 medals (40 gold)
- Japan - 45 medals (20 gold)
- Australia - 53 medals (18 gold)
- France - 64 medals (16 gold)
- Netherlands - 34 medals (15 gold)
- Great Britain - 65 medals (14 gold)
- South Korea - 32 medals (13 gold)
- Italy - 40 medals (12 gold)
- Germany - 33 medals (12 gold)
Yasmeen Hamadeh