Jordan Chiles Says She Received Racist Messages After 'Unjust' Olympic Medal Ruling

Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles has released her first statement since the International Olympic Committee ordered her to return her bronze medal in the floor exercise from the Paris Summer Olympics.

Of note, she called the Court of Arbitration for Sport's rejection of the USA Gymnastics' appeal "unjust" and noted that she has been the target of "unprompted racially driven attacks on social media."

Chiles initially took fifth in the floor exercise but moved up to third after United States coach Cecile Landi filed an inquiry on her score. Tom Schad of USA Today explained the situation.

"At the women's floor exercise final more than a week ago, Chiles' score increased to 13.766 from 13.666 after her coach, Cecile Landi, appealed a deduction that she had received on one element, known as a tour jete full. The appeal, known as an 'inquiry' in gymnastics, wiped away the deduction, moved Chiles into third and knocked Ana Barbosu of Romania off the podium."

However, the Romanian team successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, stating that Landi's inquiry occurred four seconds after the 60-second deadline.

USA Gymnastics made its own appeal to CAS and released a statement on the matter, claiming in part:

"The time-stamped, video evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics Sunday evening shows Landi first stated her request to file an inquiry at the inquiry table 47 seconds after the score is posted, followed by a second statement 55 seconds after the score was originally posted.

"The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal's decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it."

That appeal was denied, but USA Gymnastics will continue its drive to ensure that Chiles keeps the bronze medal.

There's been an outpouring of public support for Chiles, as expected.

Chiles is an incredibly decorated gymnast with or without the medal. She won silver medals in the vault and floor exercise at the 2022 World Championships, in addition to gold in the team all-around.

At UCLA, Chiles took home gold in the uneven bars and floor exercise at the 2023 NCAA Championships.

And she's a gold medalist after Team USA earned top honors in Paris in the team all-around. She was also part of the U.S. silver-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.