Lawyers for US gymnast Jordan Chiles on Monday filed an appeal with Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court in a bid to overturn a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that stripped the American of Olympic bronze.
Chiles was awarded bronze in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics after a score revision over degree of difficulty elevated her onto the podium at the expense of Romania’s Ana Barbosu.
However Romania appealed the decision, and CAS ruled in her favour, finding that the American appeal for the score revision had been made just four seconds too late.
Barbosu has since been awarded a medal following the controversy while Chiles has been asked by the International Olympic Committee to return her medal.
However Chiles’ lawyers said they would seek to challenge the ruling on the basis that the CAS judgement was flawed, noting they had video footage which “unequivocally proves” that the initial score revision appeal was submitted in good time.
The gymnast’s attorneys also argued that the head of the CAS panel which ruled against Chiles had “a serious conflict of interest” due to having acted as counsel for Romania for several years.
“Given these undeniable deficiencies, Chiles asks the Federal Supreme Court to reinstate the score that she rightfully earned at the floor event final,” attorneys Gibson-Dunn said in a statement.
“Jordan Chiles’ appeals present the international community with an easy legal question — will everyone stand by while an Olympic athlete who has done only the right thing is stripped of her medal because of fundamental unfairness in an ad-hoc arbitration process? The answer to that question should be no,” Chiles’ attorney Maurice Suh said.
“Every part of the Olympics, including the arbitration process, should stand for fair play.”
Chiles’ appeal is backed by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the gymnast’s attorneys added.
“Chiles has an incredible support team and is grateful for the unwavering support of her family, teammates, coaches, fans and USOPC as she pursues her case to the fullest extent,” the attorneys added.
Chiles has described the decision to strip her of bronze as “devastating” and revealed last month that she had been targeted with racist abuse on social media amid the controversy.
“This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey,” she said after the Olympics.
“To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country.”
