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WATCH-Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu's celebrations turn into tears as Jordan Chiles gets bronze medal on floor following inquiry at Paris Olympics
Ana Barbosu, the Romanian gymnast who initially finished third in the floor finals at the Paris Olympics, lost her podium place to Jordan Chiles after a last-minute score alteration. She already had the Romanian flag wrapped around her to celebrate the bronze medal when the score change flashed, leaving her in tears.
Barbosu's impressive resume includes six Junior European Championship golds (2020), where she not only anchored her team to the top and clinched the all-around individual win, but also finished first in all the other event finals. Her debut gold at the senior level came in the floor exercise at the Osijek World Challenge Cup. The 18-year-old's 2023 World Championships stint alongside her Romanian teammates didn't earn a podium, but helped them qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
For the first time since 2012, the gymnastics women's team of Romania qualified for the Olympics. In the floor finals, Ana Barbosu's stellar routine earned her 13.700, which appeared to be enough to win her the bronze medal.
Her effort saw US gymnast Jordan Chiles drop down to fifth place with a score of 13.666. But after Chiles submitted a challenge to the judges, she gained another tenth and moved into the podium places, with her final score standing at 13.766. This automatically snatched Ana Barbosu's podium and saw her drop to fourth, leaving her devastated.
During NBC's broadcast of the Olympics, Barbosu was spotted beaming with happiness with the Romanian flag wrapped around. But when the altered score flashed on the screen, she was in disbelief and immediately broke down in tears.
Jordan Chiles took a leap on the floor and earned a C value of 0.30 points. But her team thought that she wasn't scored properly. On further analysis, Chiles earned D value of 0.40 points, which upgraded her position to third.
Nadia Comaneci's reaction to Ana Barbosu's floor finals fate
Although it was a moment to celebrate for the US gymnasts, Nadia Comaneci, the former Romanian gymnast who was the youngest in history to earn perfect scores at the Olympic Games, wasn't pleased with the decision. She extended support to Ana Barbosu and wished the judges hadn't played with the gymnast's emotions like that.
"I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them," she wrote on her X handle.
Chiles broke down in tears after winning the bronze medal in the floor finals. She earned the first individual medal of her Olympics career, besides the two team medals.
"This is just a dream come true. It was a redemption tour, I just wanted to come out and do the best I could. I have no words," she said. (via Sporting News)
The women's gymnastics event has come to an end with Simone Biles walking home with three golds and a silver, the highest gymnastic achievement at the Paris Olympics.
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