As The Blast reported, Jordan secured the bronze medal thanks to a last-minute appeal from her coach, Cecile Landi, which revised Jordan’s score and moved her up from fifth to third place, bumping Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu off the podium.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later ruled that Team USA’s appeal was filed four seconds past the one-minute deadline. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed the next day that Jordan’s medal would be stripped and awarded to Barbosu.
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After the announcement that Jordan Chiles had to return her bronze medal, Flavor Flav, a supporter of Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, made a generous gesture towards the gymnast.
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Flavor Flav Makes Custom Bronze Necklace For Jordan Chiles
“Ayyy YOOOO @ChilesJordan, imma make you a BRONZE CLOCK NECKLACE, and that’s something NO ONE else has!!! Hit me up my girl, I gotchu!!!” he wrote in an X post earlier this week.
A few days later, Flavor Flav delivered his promise. “USA gonna Fight the Powers that be for our girl Jordan Chiles, but in the meantime between time, I gots ya this one of a kind Bronze clock,” he wrote in a video unveiling the one-of-a-kind piece of bling. “Thankx to @ROCK’N STONES for creating this gem so quickly!!!”
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Gina Chiles Responds To Flavor Flav’s Custom Bronze Necklace
“Thank you. Means the world,” Gina Chiles wrote via X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, August 12, resharing the video that Flavor Flav shared of the custom bronze clock necklace he made for Jordan.
Just before the CAS ruled that Jordan had to return her bronze medal, the gymnast chose to take a break from social media. “She’s not on socials right now, as you can imagine,” Gina said in her response to Flavor Flav’s post. “I’ll share it with her,” she added along with a hand-heart emoji.
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Jordan Chiles Stripped Of Her Bronze Medal
After the International Olympic Committee announced that Jordan’s medal would be stripped and awarded to Barbosu, USA Gymnastics’ insisted that the appeal was on time, even having video footage, but the CAS has stood firm on their decision, leaving Jordan’s medal status up in the air and fueling ongoing drama.
“USA Gymnastics was notified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday that their rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement.
“We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure that just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan,” the statement added.
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Ana Barbosu Releases Statement Amid Olympic Bronze Medal Controversy
On Sunday, August 11, just as the 2024 Paris Olympics were gearing up for the grand closing ceremony, 18-year-old Ana Barbosu took to Instagram Stories to address the ongoing Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling.
“Sabrina [Maneca-Voinea], Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling because I’ve been through the same. But I know you’ll come back stronger,” she wrote on Instagram. “I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share [the] same podium. This is my true dream!”
“This situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation,” she continued. “We, athletes are not to be blamed, and the hate directed to us is painful. I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world.”
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Jordan Chiles Talks About Bronze Medal Win
“There were so many emotions going through my body in that moment,” Jordan said, per E! News. “There was a lot of things happening to me not being on the podium to me being on the podium.”
“I think the biggest thing is just always understanding not to doubt yourself, and just let everything ride out how it’s supposed to be,” she added.