The International Sport Tribunal on Monday rejected the U.S. team’s appeal against an Olympic decision that stripped U.S. gymnast Jordan Childs of her bronze medal, arguing there was no way to overturn the decision.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Saturday stripped Chile of its bronze medal in the women’s floor exercise final, arguing that the team’s coach disputed the score four seconds into regulation and therefore the actual score was lower than initially thought. As a result, Romania’s Ana Barbos was awarded the bronze medal.
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Gymnastics appealed the decision, submitting additional video evidence they claim proves the coach’s protest occurred within the 60-second time limit.
USA Gymnastics said the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday rejected the U.S. appeal, saying the arbitration decision cannot be reviewed even if conclusive new evidence of scoring errors is presented.
“We are deeply disappointed by this notice and will pursue all avenues and appeals, including in Swiss Federal Court, to ensure Jordan’s fair scoring, ranking and medal award,” USA Gymnastics said Monday. In a statement.
in Saturday’s rulingCAS said coach Cecil Lundy’s appeal to add 0.1 points to Childs’ score fell outside the 60-second grace period allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), The Associated Press reported. Lundy’s appeal came 64 seconds after Childs’ initial score was announced, CAS said.
USA Gymnastics announced Sunday that it had submitted evidence for the appeal to CAS, showing that the appeal was made 47 seconds after the scores were announced, not 64, and that the appeal should have been allowed.
“According to time-stamped video evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics on Sunday night, Lundy first stated her request for an investigation at the investigation table 47 seconds after the scores were posted and made a second statement 55 seconds after the scores were initially posted,” USA Gymnastics said. It said in a statement.
“The video footage submitted was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the Tribunal’s decision and therefore USA Gymnastics did not have an opportunity to submit it in advance,” the organization continued.
Chiles initially received a score of 13.666 and was in fifth place before her coach called for an investigation.
Rapper Flavor Flav, who has been a vocal supporter of U.S. Olympians at this year’s games, spoke out on Monday. He will buy a bronze watch. Chile won a necklace instead of a medal.
With the closing ceremony for the Paris Olympics on Sunday, the battle for the bronze medal is already over.
The U.S. team led all nations in medals at the Olympics, tying China for the most gold medals with 40.
