"I didn't think it would be accepted"- Cecile Landi issues clarification on Jordan Chiles' inquiry amid bronze medal controversy at Paris Olympics

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Aug 06, 2024 15:55 GMT

Gymnastics coach, Cecile Landi has come out in support of Jordan Chiles, who is facing some heat from the gymnastics world following her controversial bronze medal win in the floor exercises finals of the Paris Olympics 2024.

Initially, during her performance, Chiles bagged 13.666 points, which placed her fifth in the overall standings. However, after the routine, Landi launched an inquiry on Chiles' scoring tally as she thought some of her elements in the performance were not properly marked, which ultimately turned out to be true.

Owing to this, Chiles' point tally increased by 0.100 points, helping her win the bronze medal. She finished with 13.766 points and overtook two Romanian gymnasts, Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea (both of them finished with 13.700 points). Even though Voinea filed for an appeal after the results, it didn't result in a change to her point tally.

This led to a huge controversy, leaving Romanian gymnastics aggrieved. Mihai Covaliu, who is the current president of the Romanian Olympic committee, even forwarded a letter to the International Gymnastics Federation asking for a re-assessment of Voinea's scores.

Amidst this growing controversy, Cecile Landi, who was responsible for the launch of the inquiry, has come out in support of Chiles. She stated in an Instagram comment under her latest post:

"I shouldn't have to explain but I will ONCE. Jordan's highest possible SV on a possible floor is a 5.9. At quals and team finals, she received a 5.8 and we didn't question it because we saw that not all elements were completed. During floor finals, we thought it was better and being placed fifth with nothing to lose, I sent the inquiry so I wouldn't regret not asking. I didn't think that it would be accepted and at my surprise it was."

In her comment, Landi remarked that Chiles won the bronze medal on her merit and didn't steal it from anyone.

Cecile response to misdirected anger byu/Xylophone1904 inGymnastics

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Jordan Chiles opens up after winning bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024

Jordan Chiles at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Image via Getty Images)

As Jordan Chiles clinched the third Olympic medal of her career on Monday, she felt immense joy and was seen celebrating with her teammate, Simone Biles. However, there was also a section of people left disappointed with this controversial change in standings.

Owing to this, Jordan Chiles took to her X (formerly Twitter) handle to pen down a message in response to her critics. She stated:

"It’s funny how people can still never be happy for someone…"

The five-time Olympic gold medalist, Nadia Comaneci was also among the people not happy with the change in standing following the inquiry.