Jordan Chiles turns to Swiss supreme court in bronze medal case

Jordan Chiles is appealing to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland in her quest to overturn the ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that stripped her of a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

Chiles’ appeal is backed by both USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. In a statement Monday, USA Gymnastics said it made a “collective, strategic decision to have Jordan lead the initial filing. USAG is closely coordinating with Jordan and her legal team and will make supportive filings with the court in the continued pursuit of justice for Jordan.”

Chiles won the bronze in women’s floor exercise after an on-floor appeal by her coach, Cecile Landi, helped correct her initial score from 13.666 to 13.766. Chiles moved into third place, passing Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.

Romania took their case to the CAS, arguing that the United States’ inquiry missed the one-minute window stated in the rules by four seconds. The CAS ruled in favor of Romania and ordered Chiles’ bronze medal to be reallocated to Barbosu, who was tied at 13.7 with Maneca-Voinea but had a higher execution score.

The U.S. tried to appeal to the CAS, saying it had uncovered video evidence that Landi’s appeal was made 47 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted. The CAS declined to re-open the case.

The CAS is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and appeals to any case go straight to the nation’s supreme court.

Chiles’ appeal says her “right to be heard” was violated when the CAS refused to consider new evidence. The appeal also claims that the president of the CAS panel had a conflict of interest because of prior legal ties in Romania.

Chiles said in a social media post last month that her situation “feels unjust” and added she had been the subject of “unprompted racially driven attacks on social media.”

–Field Level Media