US Olympic star has controversial reaction after small rule keeps her out of final competition
Yasmeen Hamadeh
Featured Image Credit: Jamie Squire/Naomi Baker/Getty Images
American gymnast Jordan Chiles had a divisive reaction after failing to qualify for the Olympics' upcoming all-around final for women's gymnastics.
Posting some of the best all-around scores during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games so far, Chiles was ousted from joining her teammates, Simone Biles and Suni Lee, in the final because of a specific rule set by the Olympics.
According to the fine print, each competing country is only allowed to send two gymnasts to the finals.
During the qualifiers, Chiles' teammate Suni Lee managed to outscore her teammate and move ahead.
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Lee was required to post a score of 14.800 or higher in order to beat Chiles and secure her place in the final alongside Biles.
Lee's incredibly impressive routine earned her a score of 14.866, trailing ahead of Chiles with just a .067 difference.
Because of the two-person rule, Chiles lost her spot to represent Team USA in the finals.
Following Lee's win, Chiles appeared to be fiercely disappointed and her reaction has completely divided viewers on social media.
Josina Anderson, a reporter for the NFL, wrote on Twitter: "Suni Lee deserved a better embrace from Jordan Chiles after edging Chiles for All-Around individuals.
"I understand it's a tough pill to swallow after putting on dynamic performances herself. I also understand that sometimes all of us need more time to process before putting on a face and acknowledging present circumstances.
"Still the camera is on, and she has to maintain her usual grace and well-known charisma wherever her results land in the standings."
Another viewer wrote, "Couldn't help see that Jordan Chiles looked pissed at Suni Lee after their placing in the uneven bars.
"Why is she p*ssed at her?? It's not her fault she scored better! I really don't like when gymnasts act like that. Ur all in it together!"
Others came to her defense though, with one user writing: "Nah I'm officially at my limit because jordan chiles has been PERFECT her gymnastics has been perfect her energy has been perfect she's been the team hype woman & everyone else's rock & she dares to have an emotion for 5 entire seconds and the world wants to tear her down?!!!"
Fans also expressed their frustration over the Olympics' two-person rule.
One user wrote: "Still cannot believe jordan chiles literally got 4th place in the entire world and almost beat suni lee for 3rd by a fraction of a point and won't be given the opportunity to try and medal because of the stupid '2 per country' rule…let the USA sweep the podium!!!"
The gymnastics all-around finals are slated to begin on Thursday (August 1, 2024).
