Simone Biles is taking a stand for teammate Jordan Chiles after her unfortunate Olympic Bronze loss. The floor finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics hold bittersweet memories for Team USA gymnastics women and those who hold them dear. While Simone Biles added to her ever-growing hoard of medals with her second-place win, Jordan fell short of the Bronze medal due to a very avoidable error that was no fault of hers.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on August 10, ruled in favor of two Romanian gymnasts to have Jordan Chiles stripped of her Bronze medal in floor routine. In her stead, Ana Barbosu, who came in fourth place would receive the disputed medal. Since the announcement of the heartbreaking ruling, several fans and high-profile figures have shown support for the 23-year-old, calling the ruling unjust.
In a recent interview with People to promote her collaboration with haircare brand K18, Jordan Chiles’ teammate Simone Biles weighed in on the court’s decision, calling it unfortunate. She also demanded justice for her friend and teammate, questioning the CAS ruling while blasting them for not following the right procedure. She fired,
“Do we think they did the correct procedures to come to this ruling? No. That’s really why we want that justice for Jordan and why we’re going to keep supporting her and uplifting her.”
Simone Biles Reveals How She Helped Jordan Deal With Bronze Dispute
In terms of uplifting, Simone Biles has indeed been a supportive pillar for Jordan Chiles in the wake of the Olympic Bronze mixup. The 27-year-old revealed that she has strived to be there for her friend “faceTiming, texting, just being girls.” Above all, she encouraged Jordan to feel her feelings, knowing embracing the emotions was the only way to let it all out.
So far, the strategy appears to work, as Jordan has kept up her energetic personality, and was “still that girl” despite losing her bronze medal, her first-ever individual Olympic medal. Simone Biles acknowledged that regardless of the outcome of the medal dispute, the whole world knew for a fact who deserved the accolade. Addressing Jordan’s effort, she shared,
“We saw what you did. And it’s an unfortunate circumstance because something like this has never happened before and it’s truly a shame.”
During the August 5 floor finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Jordan Chiles did an impressive routine and finished the event in fifth place. However, USA gymnastics coach Cecile Landi submitted a successful inquiry challenging the difficulty score.
The judges ultimately boosted her by a 0.1 point, upping her to third place and scoring her the Bronze medal. However, Romanian gymnasts, Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca, who ended up in 4th and 5th place as a result appealed the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sports. The CAS ruled in their favor on August 10, concluding that Cecil challenged the Olympic scoreboard four seconds too late.
