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Jordan Chiles in July 2024Jordan Chiles is opening up about the “devastating” impact of having the bronze medal stripped away from her after the Paris Olympics last summer.
The 23-year-old U.S. gymnast opened up about the Olympic controversy in a new ESPN profile piece surrounding the release of her debut memoir, I'm That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams, last month.
"It's still a struggle to talk about it," Chiles tells ESPN, detailing the impact the incident had on her mental health. "Six months ago, I was not able to move."
The UCLA gymnast adds later in the story: “I was stuck in my bed. I was mentally gone, mentally not okay.”
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Jordan Chiles in July 2024Chiles was stripped of the bronze medal she initially won in the women’s floor competition last August. The series of events began after Chiles was first awarded fifth place in the event, two spots off the podium. Chiles’ USA Gymnastics coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi then submitted a request for a second review of the athlete's score, asking the Olympic judges to take into consideration the difficulty of her routine.
Related: Jordan Chiles Reveals Her Plan If She Doesn’t Get Her Olympic Medal Back
The judges agreed with Landi and then reshuffled the standings, awarding Chiles the bronze medal and leading to Chiles, silver medalist Simone Biles and Brazilian gold medalist Rebeca Andrade standing side-by-side on the podium.
After the event, two Romanian gymnasts filed an appeal on the judges’ rescoring, arguing that Landi’s initial inquiry into Chiles’ score came seconds too late. The decision was arbitrated by several sports bodies, including the International Olympic Committee, the International Gymnastics Federation and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A judge for the CAS ultimately ruled in favor of the Romanians, and led to the IOC requesting Chiles ship her bronze medal back, stripping her of the title while she was in the middle of a week of media appearances celebrating what she told ESPN ...
