Olympian Jordan Chiles who had medal taken off her says 'everything has been stripped from her'

Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles has opened up about how she was controversially stripped of a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The two-time Olympic medal holder, 23, fought back tears as she spoke about how 'everything has been stripped from her' when officials ruled that they would give her podium position to Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu.

Chiles was initially awarded fifth place in the the women's artistic gymnastics individual floor finals at the Olympics, but was bumped up to third after Team USA coach Cecile Landi argued her score.

Chiles' teammate Simone Biles came second and earned a silver medal, while Brazil's Rebecca Andrade won the gold.

However, it wasn’t a long-lived glory for Chiles.

The US gymnast’s victory was short-lived after another contest about her score was made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who ruled that the appeal had been made too late in the game.

This therefore meant Chiles' bronze medal was stripped from her and instead given to Bărbosu, who initially had been awarded it before Team USA's intervention.

A month on from the painful ordeal, Chiles appeared at Forbes' Power Women's Summit on Wednesday (September 11) and opened up about the experience.

She said as she fought back tears: "The biggest thing that was taken from me was the recognition of who I was. Not just my sport, but the person I am."

Chiles continued: "To me, everything that has gone on, it’s not about the medal. It’s about my skin color. It’s about the fact there were things that have led up to this position of being an athlete.

"And I felt like everything has been stripped. I felt like when I was back in 2018 where I did lose the love of the sport, I lost it again. I feel like I was really left in the dark.”

The gymnast explained how she had a coach who was emotionally abusive to her six years ago, and that the whole ordeal brought back those feelings of when she was in a dark state of mind.

However, Chiles was still able to leave Paris with a gold medal - one that she earned as part of a team - and it adds to her impressive collection of medals after she took home another silver alongside her US teammates.

But having the bronze stripped from her means that she is yet to earn a medal wholly on her own individual performance.

Following the incident at the time, Chiles took to Instagram, writing in part: “I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey."