A video captured for Simone Biles’ docuseries could reverse the court decision stripping Jordan Chiles of her bronze Olympic medal.
Thanks to Simone Biles’ Netflix documentary, Jordan Chiles may win her Olympic medal appeal after all. Court documents released on Monday reportedly show that the video footage being used in Chiles’ ongoing bronze medal appeal came from Katie Walsh and Religion Sports, the director and production company behind “Simone Biles: Rising” docuseries.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Chiles was awarded the bronze medal when her coach, Cecile Landi, submitted an on-floor appeal. However, shortly after that the Team USA gymnast “took a significant blow” when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided her coach’s initial appeal claiming it came in four seconds beyond the one-minute time limit to submit scoring inquiries. Confirming the court’s ruling, the International Olympic Committee reallocated the bronze title to Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu.
“I have no words,” Chiles said in response to the ruling. “This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey. To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country.”
“We aren’t letting this go so easily and will keep looking for video and stuff,” Landi said at the time, USA Today reports.
As Chiles and US Gymnastics embarked on their process to appeal the court’s decision, the documentary footage could be their saving grace. It reportedly shows Landi submitting her on-floor appeal within the 60-second deadline. According to USA Today, Landi is heard saying, “Inquiry for Jordan,” exactly 49 seconds after the scores were announced in the video. She also reportedly repeated the same sentence ahead of the 60-second limit.
Haniyah Philogene
Haniyah Philogene
Haniyah Philogene
Haniyah Philogene
Haniyah Philogene
Haniyah Philogene
Associated Press
Kay Wicker
Despite the inquiry being accepted at the moment, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation’s appeal relied primarily on the claim that Team USA’s submission was late. Now, US Gymnastics first flagged this video in August and submitted the evidence to CAS a day after the ruling was released. However, the court rejected the submission claiming that no evidence was added following their decision.
“This shows it was done!!” Gina Chiles, the Olympian’s mother wrote on Facebook on Aug. 11, per USA Today. “I keep listening to it. They didn’t even try to find the facts!!! This is clear. This shows it was submitted in time.”
So, on Sept. 16, Chiles’ team submitted a formal appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal regarding the CAS ruling, including the footage and noting the CAS’ failure to accept it. The new court documents also highlighted other errors that occurred during the court’s process, like parties’ failure to share information with US Gymnastics and emails being sent to incorrect addresses.
The docuseries footage also revealed Olympic judges missing an inquiry that could have resulted in Biles winning another gold medal during the international competition. While the video shows coach Landi’s scoring inquiry for Biles going unheard, the 11-time Olympic medalist is unphased by the mistake.
“Honestly, not a big deal for me, Rebeca had a better floor anyways 🫶🏾 upsetting how it wasn’t processed, but I’m not mad at the results,” Biles wrote on X. “BUT JUSTICE FOR JORDAN ya hear me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
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