The American gymnast Jordan Chiles’s sister has alleged race bias in awarding Olympic medals, following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to strip the 23-year-old athlete of the bronze medal she won in the floor all-around competition at the Paris Games.
“Please keep Jordan [and my family] in your prayers,” Chiles’s sister Jazmin said in a social media post. “Racism is real, it exists, it is alive and well.”
According to the CAS, the inquiry pointing out that Chiles should have received an extra 0.1 point for difficulty was filed four seconds past the one minute allowed for protests. Jazmin argued that it was an unjust decision, stating: “In the HISTORY of the Olympics NO ONE has ever been stripped of their medal for this.”
Chiles was the final athlete to compete in the event on Monday night and initially received a score of 13.666, which put her behind Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea, who each earned scores of 13.700. After Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, filed an inquiry, the judges gave Chiles an adjusted score of 13.766, earning her the bronze medal.
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But the CAS ruled that the inquiry was filed four seconds past the allotted time, and as a result, Chiles has been stripped of her medal. Jazmin expressed her frustration, stating that her sister’s bronze was taken away “not because she didn’t win, not because she was drugged, not because she stepped out of bounds, but because the judges failed to give her difficulty and forced an inquiry to be made.”
Jordan herself has chosen to step away from social media for the time being. “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health,” she said while posting four broken heart emojis.