The video evidence “conclusively” establishes that Chiles’ inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the score was posted, USA Gymnastics said in a new statement.
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USA Gymnastics says they have video evidence that will prove Jordan Chiles deserves to keep her bronze medal.
“USA Gymnastics on Sunday formally submitted a letter and video evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, conclusively establishing that Head Coach Cecile Landi’s request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, within the 1-minute deadline required by FIG rule,” the federation said in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Aug. 11.
The letter sent to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) includes a request from USA Gymnastics that the “ruling be revised and Chiles’ bronze-medal score of 13.766 reinstated,” per the Aug. 11 statement.
Chiles, 23, initially earned a score of 13.666 in the women’s floor exercise final on Aug. 5, putting her in fifth place. After her coach Cecile Landi argued that the judges had inaccurately assessed the difficulty level of Chiles’ routine in the initial score, the judges agreed. That changed her score to 13.766, bumping her up to third place over Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who both finished with a score of 13.700.
Romania’s Olympic Committee then protested to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Landi’s inquiry resulting in Chiles’ third-place score wasn’t submitted in time. The petition claimed that Landi was four seconds late.
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In their Aug. 11 statement, USA Gymnastics said they have submitted “time-stamped, video evidence” to the CAS that “shows Landi first stated her request to file an inquiry at the inquiry table 47 seconds after the score is posted, followed by a second statement 55 seconds after the score was originally posted.”
“The basis for the CAS ruling on Friday striking down the inquiry was that ‘The inquiry submitted on behalf of Ms. Jordan Chiles in the Final of the women’s floor exercise was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline provided by article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations and is determined to be without effect,’” USA Gymnastics continued.
“The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it.”
Next, the CAS will have to review the evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics to determine whether or not the ruling stands.
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Earlier on Sunday, the IOC determined that Chiles would be stripped of her bronze medal, a decision which resulted in zealous discourse on social media.
Chiles said she will be stepping away from the online discourse after she learned of the ruling. “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you,” she wrote in a post on Instagram.
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