Jordan Chiles speaks out on ‘very difficult’ Olympic medal saga as new SI Swimsuit chapter is revealed
Published Nov. 11, 2024, 1:17 p.m. ET
Roughly three months removed from a bronze medal controversy that engulfed her experience at the 2024 Olympics, American gymnast Jordan Chiles expressed Monday on “Today” how the fallout has been “really hard” to comprehend.
Discussing the ordeal in her first TV interview since the Paris Games saga in August, Chiles — who was stripped of her bronze medal in the floor exercise final amid questions over the timing of a Team USA score inquiry — said she’s “been able to finally now feel comfortable in a way to talk about what has been happening.”
“It’s honestly been a very, very difficult time, and to everybody that’s been supporting me and lifting me up in millions of different ways, I say thank you all the time, it’s just been a difficult time for myself and I’m ready to speak on my truth,” the two-time Olympian said in an emotional interview.
Over the summer, Chiles, 23, initially received a score of 13.666 in the floor exercise final, putting her in fifth place behind Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who both scored 13.700, with Barbosu netting a higher execution score of 8.000.
Although Chiles was elevated to third place at 13.766 following a score inquiry, the Court of Arbitration for Sport later ruled Team USA’s review was submitted past the deadline.
The International Olympic Committee ordered Chiles to return the bronze as Barbosu received a medal in her home country after the Olympics.
Chiles, who previously called the situation “one of the most challenging moments” of her career, said Monday on “Today” she’s learned on the support of her circle, remaining steadfast the team was “right in everything that we were doing.”
“I think now, it’s just the support that’s been around me that I’ve been like, ‘OK, I can’t control anything that’s happening on the 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 that we were doing,’” she said.