"She's being called disgusting things"-Jordan Chiles' mother lashes out at racist comments after controversial bronze medal win at Paris Olympics

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Aug 10, 2024 05:04 GMT

The controversy around Jordan Chiles is far from over. The American gymnast, who was awarded a bronze medal in the floor exercise event, is now being subjected to racial slurs. This has enraged her mother Gina Chiles, who has called them out recently in a tweet on her X account, which went viral all over social media.

Gina Chiles wrote (via @gina_chiles on X):

"The racist disgusting comments are still happening in 2024. I'm tired of people who say it no longer exists. My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched.....and she's being called disgusting things."

But what was the issue all about? Jordan Chiles was initially ranked fifth in the floor exercise event finals, behind Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea.

However, when Cecile Landi, the American coach, protested, the jury found that Chiles' difficulty was judged incorrectly. Her score was updated from 13.666 to 13.766, while Voinea's points were decreased by 0.1 for going out of bounds.

This has led to a huge controversy. Some protested, including the Romanian authorities, who lodged an official complaint against this decision. Even Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has declared to boycott the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics in protest. However, some social media users started calling out Jordan Chiles in the worst ways imaginable, using racial slurs as well. This is what enraged Gina Chiles.

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When Jordan Chiles almost quit gymnastics over racism

Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles celebrate after the Floor Exercise event at Paris Olympics 2024 [Image courtesy: Getty]

Today, Jordan Chiles is a multiple Olympic gold medalist, including the gold and bronze medals she has won at the Paris Olympics.

However, there was also a time when Chiles had almost quit the sport, over the racism she is subjected to again. On NBC's My New Favorite Olympian podcast, which was aired a couple of months ago, Chiles recalled how she was subjected to racial slurs since 2018 when she was only 17. Chiles mentioned (via NBC):

"I wanted to be done, because I didn't think....the sport wanted me. I didn't think people around me wanted to see this beautiful Black girl in a [leotard] anymore."

Chiles' turning point came in 2019, when she joined the World Champions Center in Houston, and trained alongside Olympic champion Simone Biles for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. At Tokyo, Chiles played an important role in delivering USA a respectable silver medal in the team all-around event. Following the Olympics, Chiles went to UCLA to hone her skills further.

Since then, Jordan Chiles never looked back. She won three medals at the 2022 World Championships, including a gold in the team all-around event, and two silver medals in the vault and floor exercise event. She also won three medals at the 2023 Pan American Games, including a gold in the team all-around event, a silver in the vault event, and a bronze medal in the individual all-around event. The icing on the cake was the gold medal in the team all-around event and the bronze medal in the floor exercise that Chiles recently won at the Paris Olympics.