Gymnasts Rendezvous with the Bronze Medal at the Olympics

The IOC awarded the Romanian gymnast, Ana Barbosu, bronze medal after the CAS overturned the decision to award the bronze medal to the USA’s gymnast, Jordan Chiles. Chiles was initially declared the winner of the bronze medal after a correction of her scores that moved her from the fifth position to the third. However, this decision was overturned by CAS, stating that Team USA’s previous appeal during the game for the score correction was four seconds over the one-minute deadline. The team of Jordan Chiles claimed that her coach had raised his appeal within the allotted time as per video evidence but the IOC nevertheless went ahead with awarding Bărbosu the bronze medal.

This decision of the CAS also led another Romanian gymnast, Maneca-Voinea to appeal in the Swiss Federal Tribunal, contending that if she were not penalized for stepping out of bounds when video evidence suggest she did not step out then the dispute regarding the third position would have been settled. The IOC also rejected the Romanian proposal that all three athletes involved in the dispute be awarded bronze medals.

The appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal would open the door for strict scrutiny of the Olympic judging process. The Swiss Federal Tribunal would also look into the decisions taken by the CAS in the appeal of Ana Barbosu. Another important aspect that is deeply rooted in this case is the legitimacy and transparency of the re-evaluation process as the team of Jordan Chiles claimed that her coach had raised his appeal within the allotted time. The Swiss Federation would also look into whether the contentions made by Maneca-Voinea are true and whether the Tribunal has the power to adjudicate an appeal which is normally decided by the ‘field of play’ decision.

Such disputes pose serious questions about the integrity and fairness of the judging done in the Olympic games. Allegations against such flawed judging were also raised in the 2012 Olympics, where Shin A-Liam, a South Korean lost her semi-final match due to an error in the timing.