Though the 2024 Paris Olympics came to a close earlier this month, there was major uncertainty over one particular event that remained unresolved for weeks: the awarding of the bronze medal for women’s gymnastics.
American gymnast Jordan Chiles competed in the Paris Olympics this year with high expectations from herself, her teammates, and her coaches. Evidently, it was no surprise that she stepped on to the floor for her final routine with total confidence. Her performance was excellent and scored her a 13.666, securing her the fifth place position. USA gymnastics coach Cecile Landi, however, submitted a request regarding Chiles’ difficulty rating. Soon afterwards, the judges modified her score to a 13.766, qualifying Chiles for the bronze medal and bumping Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu off of the podium. The excitement from the win was remarkable as this became the first time black women secured all three podium spots. This historic moment didn’t last long, however.
The Romanian Gymnastics Federation and numerous other Romanian gymnasts challenged the final scoring arguing that the request for Chiles’ difficulty rating was filed 4 seconds too late. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation advocated for Chiles’ return to her original score. Their argument was understood and approved, bumping Chiles back to fifth place.
This was devastating news for Chiles and the USA gymnastics team and they fought hard to return the medal to her. Weeks passed with no desired resolution in sight. All appeals from team USA were denied, confirming Romania’s victory for the bronze medal.
The Ravine asked WKHS students their thoughts on the controversy. Junior Elizabeth Bennett expresses how it seems “highly unprofessional that this misunderstanding could happen,” and how “many people have already been complaining [about] the less favorable conditions of the Paris Olympics including the location and the introduction ceremony.” Bennett argues that the Olympics is ultimately about “highlighting the world’s greatest athletes” and the most fair way to end this tension between the USA and Romania is to award them both the bronze medal for women’s gymnastics.
Junior Kathryn Collins spoke about her opinion and added that the judges should “realize in the moment that [someone] is out of the time frame,” instead of regrouping weeks later to announce that the score needs to be altered. Collins shared how she “couldn’t imagine going through” something like that and that taking the medal away from an athlete is completely unfair. Like Bennett, Collins agrees that both teams should receive the bronze medal.
Through all of this controversy, many people have spoken up about how the program should alter their rules to ensure that the medal is awarded correctly with no upsets or confusion. We’ll have to hope that these changes are made and that Olympic athletes in the future don’t have to worry about any confusion with the awarding of their medals.
