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"I had a much better exercise than Jordan Chiles"- Romanian gymnast Sabrina Voinea claims American didn't deserve bronze medal at Paris Olympics
Jordan Chiles was called out by Romanian gymnast Sabrina Voinea for winning bronze after an appeal, as she believes her floor routine was better in the 2024 Paris Olympics floor finals.
Voinea ultimately earned fifth place with 13.700 points, 0.034 more than the initial fifth-finisher Chiles.
Chiles was part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics team that earned the silver medal in with a combined effort. But in the wake of Simone Biles' 'twisties' and her sudden withdrawal from the event, the US women's gymnastics team took time to regroup. On a 'redemption tour' in Paris, Chiles contributed to the team's all-around gold medal. She also won bronze in the individual floor routine, her first individual Olympic medal.
However, she was initially trailing in fifth with 13.666 points, behind the Romanian duo of Ana Barbosu and Voinea. Chiles' team wished to challenge her score since they thought that the floor routine was not properly judged. One of her leaps earned a C value, which is worth 0.30 points. However, they believed it deserved a D value (0.40 points). On filing a petition, Chiles upgraded to bronze with 13.766, leaving Barbosu just out of the podium with 13.700.
Sabrina Voinea was also shifted from fourth to fifth after the score alteration. She wasn't pleased with the judgment, saying her routine was better.
"Simone Biles is a good athlete but the American in 3rd place, Jordan Chiles, made low landings and even left carpet. I was not penalised, I filed appeal and it remained same mark. Chiles kept protesting and changed her mark. I had a much better exercise than her," Voinea shared. (via an X post)
Voinea said that her appeal was not considered and her score remained the same.
Jordan Chiles burst into tears when her new scores flashed
Jordan Chiles was in tears on seeing her improved scores on the screen, since they meant she got bronze. She jumped into her coach Cecile Landi's arms and celebrated the medal-winning moment.
"I have no words, but I’m so proud of myself. So losing my voice means everything, because it takes a while for me to do that. I was like, jumping up and down. They're like, 'What happened?' And then I showed them ... I honestly didn't expect this whatsoever," Chiles said after the meet. (via NBC)
The 23-year-old's upgradation to bronze came at the cost of Romanian gymnast Barbosu's moment, who had initially taken the podium. Nadia Comaneci, the former Romanian gymnast, extended support to her compatriot.
"I can't believe we play with athletes' mental health and emotions like this… let's protect them," Comaneci wrote on X.
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