Jordan Chiles cries as she breaks silence on losing USA Olympic bronze medal: ‘People didn’t support me, I was left in the dark’

A tearful Jordan Chiles spoke out to a live audience on Wednesday about the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to strip her of her bronze medal on the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics.

“The biggest thing that was taken away from me was the recognition of who I was, not just my sport, but the person that I am,” Chiles said at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit.

Chiles initially finished fifth in the eight-woman final before Team USA coach Cecile Landi appealed Chiles’ score, requesting credit for a maneuver that would have increased her score by .1. The appeal was granted, moving Chiles into third place. She was awarded the bronze medal and participated in the medal ceremony following the competition.

However, Romania successfully protested to the CAS that Landi’s appeal had not been filed within one minute of Chiles’ score, and the panel has since ruled that the bronze should go to Barbosu. The International Gymnastics Federation reinstated the original order of finish and the IOC subsequently announced that it would re-award the bronze to Barbosu, who was presented with the medal at a ceremony in Bucharest last month.

“For me, everything that happened is not about the medal,” Chiles, who is African-American, told the crowd Wednesday. “It’s about the color of my skin, it’s about the fact that there are things that led to this position as an athlete, and I felt like everything was taken away. I felt like in 2018, when I lost the love for the sport, I lost it again. I just felt like there wasn’t a lot of people supporting me.”

Chiles and Moira Forbes to speak at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit on Wednesday

Team USA’s Jordan Chiles looks on with the bronze medal that was eventually taken away

When asked for more details about what happened in 2018, Chiles referenced issues with a specific coach.

“I was dealing with a coach who was emotionally and verbally abusive, I didn’t have the ability to use my voice or be heard,” she said. “But I made history, and I will always continue to make history. I will always continue to move forward.”

Chiles, 23, won gold in the team competition at the Paris Olympics and silver in Tokyo three years earlier.

USA Gymnastics has said it will continue its efforts to ensure Chiles retains the medal.

The United States sports governing body disputes Romania’s claim that Landi’s appeal was filed four seconds late. It said on Sunday that it had submitted video evidence to CAS showing that Landi first filed the appeal 13 seconds before the deadline.

CAS released a detailed account of how it reached its decision, noting that USA Gymnastics did not raise concerns about the timing system during the hearing. USA Gymnastics had less than 24 hours to prepare due to administrative errors by CAS, which sent notifications to the wrong email address. Landi noted that her request for an investigation was granted “promptly.”

Chiles, 23, who will resume competing in January when she begins her third year at UCLA, has also been the subject of attacks on social media, some of which have been racist in nature, calling her “wrong and extremely hurtful.”

“I am now facing one of the most challenging moments of my career,” Chiles posted. “Believe me when I say I have had many. I will rise to the challenge as I have others — and I will do everything in my power to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in power will do the right thing.”