The American gymnast claimed her score, which gave her the bronze medal that had been won by Romania’s Ana Barabosu

Jordan Chiles, with the Olympic bronze that he lost and the gold in the team competition /LAPRESSE

Jordan Chiles has given her first television interview after what happened at the Paris Olympic Games. The American gymnast had finished fourth in the floor exercise final, but appealed her score. The judges upheld her claim and her score went from 13.666 to 13.766. In this way, she took bronze at the expense of Romania’s Ana Barbosu (13.700). Chiles was on the podium alongside Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (14.166) and compatriot Simone Biles (14.133).

Simone Biles releases forbidden videos from Team USA Olympics party

The Romanian team appealed to the Court of Arbitration on the grounds that Chiles’ claim was submitted outside the one-minute time limit allowed by the international federation’s (FIG) regulations; specifically, at one minute and four seconds. The CAS agreed with Romania and took the bronze away from Chiles.

The gymnast went on the ‘Today’ show to talk about how she has experienced this whole process: “It’s hard to tell yourself that everything’s going to be OK when you feel like you literally did nothing wrong. Everything was very good, everything was done at the time it had to be, and for them to say that it arrived four seconds late when we have proof that everything was submitted correctly.“.

In September, Chile’s lawyers filed an appeal with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, arguing that the “proceedings leading to the CAS panel’s decision were fundamentally unfair”. The images from two episodes that were pending filming for the Netflix documentary on Simone Biles during the Games would prove that Cecile Landi, the US coach, complained at 49 seconds and not 64.

“It’s been really hard to understand everything that’s been going on. I’ve finally been able to feel comfortable talking about what’s been going on… It’s been a tough time for me and I’m ready to speak my truth,” Chiles said at the beginning of her interview.

I know what the truth is, and I know that we were right in everything that we were doing.

“The support that I’ve had around me that has made me think, ‘Okay, I can’t control anything that happens outside, I can only control what my truth is, and I know what the truth is, and I know that we were right in everything we were doing. I’ll be able to get through this and look back and say, ‘That was just a part of my story, but it’s the truth.’ And that’s why I’m here today, to tell my truth“, Chiles said.

The American gymnast commented that she has not spoken to Barbosu: “We haven’t had any conversation. I know she has posted things on social media the same way I did. Whatever is going on, I’m so sorry. I’ve been going through exactly the same thing, but I haven’t spoken to her directly.”