Ana Bǎrbosu receives Olympic bronze medal at ceremony in Romania amid Jordan Chiles medal controversy

Kari Anderson

In the latest chapter in the Jordan Chiles medal controversy, Romanian gymnast Ana Bǎrbosu has officially received the bronze medal for the individual floor exercise. Bǎrbosu, whose score moved ahead of Chiles' after a successful challenge from the Romanian Olympic Committee, received the medal in a "reallocation" ceremony in Bucharest, Romania, on Friday.

The ceremony came a day after the IOC gave the go-ahead for Bǎrbosu to receive the medal instead of Chiles. Bǎrbosu, like all Olympic medalists, received a stuffed mascot and a poster in addition to her medal.

Romanian gymnast Ana Maria Barbosu is given an Olympic bronze medal by Mihai Covaliu (L) the president of Romanian Olympic Comitee (COSR), on August 16, 2024 in Bucharest, Romania, after a gymnast from the US was stripped of the medal. Barbosu was awarded the Olympic floor exercise bronze medal originally given to Jordan Chiles, following a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC decision followed a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling which cancelled the re-evaluation of Chiles' score on the grounds that the appeal of her degree of difficulty was lodged by the US team four seconds after the regulatory deadline, set at one minute. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)
Romanian gymnast Ana Bǎrbosu is given an Olympic bronze medal by Mihai Covaliu, the president of Romanian Olympic Commitee (COSR). (Photo by DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images) (DANIEL MIHAILESCU via Getty Images)

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling that led to this point has been controversial, to say the least. It started with a successful challenge from Chiles' coach Cecile Landi that raised Chiles' score by 0.1 to put her into third place. Bǎrbosu was seen celebrating what she thought was a third-place finish before the amended score came through, and was visibly shocked when she did not end up taking the bronze.

The Romanian Olympic Committee then challenged the results, with CAS granting the appeal and stripping Chiles of the medal on a technicality — which USA Gymnastics has said has no grounds based on video evidence.

Since then, it's been days of bitter exchanges between CAS and USAG, with both sides digging in their heels and with USAG vowing to continue fighting on Chiles' behalf.

Chiles broke her silence on the issue Thursday, releasing a statement on social media where she called the situation "devastating" and "unjust." She also addressed the racially targeted attacks she has received online in the week and a half since the event.

USA Today reported Thursday that Chiles still has her bronze medal in the United States.

Initially, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation proposed awarding bronze medals to Chiles, Bărbosu and fellow Romanian gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who initially lost a tiebreaker to Bărbosu. However, the IOC did not approve that solution.

Instead, Bǎrbosu received her medal in Bucharest, miles away from Paris and 11 days after the event, with more dispute still to come.

Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu poses with the bronze medal for her women's artistic gymnastics individual floor performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, after receiving it during a ceremony at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel's decision that dropped her out of the bronze medal position in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics
(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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