Jordan Chiles files second appeal to get her Olympic bronze medal back

Jordan Chiles and USA Gymnastics filed separate appeals Tuesday in the fight to reclaim the gymnast's bronze medal from the floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with both asking a Swiss court to re-open the case and order that new video evidence be considered.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision that resulted in Chiles being stripped of her medal on the final day of the Paris Games was based on a "critical factual error" that her scoring inquiry was filed four seconds too late, the gymnast's attorneys said in a statement Tuesday announcing the filing. If the case is going to be decided "fairly and accurately," they said, CAS needs to consider video and audio evidence showing Chiles filed her scoring inquiry in time.

"We believe that CAS must consider the complete audio and video record that shows that Jordan without doubt followed all the rules on the floor and in her inquiry. Failing to do so would be fundamentally unfair and unjust," Maurice M. Suh, Chiles' U.S.-based attorney, said in the statement.

In a parallel filing, USA Gymnastics also asked the Swiss Federal Tribunal to re-open the case, citing the video evidence.

"The audiovisual evidence which CAS refused to consider clearly proves Jordan’s bronze-medal finish in Paris was correct," USA Gymnastics said in a statement. "With today’s filing, we are simply asking that the CAS arbitration be decided based on a true and accurate understanding of facts. As Jordan has publicly stated, the case at this point is about her peace and justice, and the right of all athletes to be treated fairly."

The new filing by Chiles' attorneys makes similar arguments to their previous appeal filed last week, which asked the Swiss Federal Tribunal to set aside the CAS ruling.

Chiles' team filed separate appeals because of lingering questions over when the CAS ruling went into effect. Key video footage, which shows coach Cecile Landi making two verbal inquiries before the 60-second deadline, was discovered after CAS announced its ruling Aug. 10 but before it announced a detailed explanation of the decision Aug.14. Chiles' lawyers are arguing that the footage either constitutes new evidence, if the decision went into effect Aug. 10, or was unfairly ignored by CAS, if the decision wasn't final until Aug. 14.

In that filing, Chiles' attorneys cited three flaws in the process:

• Evidence discovered a day after the Aug. 10 CAS ruling – video from the makers of Simone Biles’ Netflix documentary showing coach Cecile Landi making two verbal inquiries before the 60-second deadline – undercuts the basis for the CAS decision. USA Gymnastics tried to present the evidence, but CAS said it was too late.

• Chiles, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee did not have enough time to prepare for the CAS hearing, less than 24 hours, because CAS was sending emails to wrong or outdated addresses. This despite CAS and the USOPC being in communication during the Paris Olympics related to an Aug. 7 ceremony where U.S. figure skaters finally got their medals from the team competition at the 2022 Beijing Games.

• The president of the arbitration panel has represented the Romanian government in financial disputes since 2016, including in at least two cases that are ongoing. Though Hamid Gharavi disclosed the relationship and promised to be independent, the Americans did not even know about the potential conflict of interest until several days after the hearing.

Chiles was moved into third place after challenging the judges' score of one of the elements in her routine, then bumped back down to fifth days later after CAS ruled the challenge was submitted four seconds too late. The International Olympic Committee has since asked Chiles to return her bronze medal and awarded one to Ana Barbosu of Romania, the gymnast who was elevated to third after the CAS ruling.

The Swiss tribunal usually overturns CAS decisions only in cases where there was a blatant procedural violation, lack of jurisdiction or incompatibility with Swiss public policy. But Chiles’ attorney said after her initial filing that the CAS decision casts doubt on the entire arbitration process.

"Jordan Chiles’ appeals present the international community with an easy legal question − will everyone stand by while an Olympic athlete who has done only the right thing is stripped of her medal because of fundamental unfairness in an ad-hoc arbitration process?" Suh said in a statement last week. "The answer to that question should be no. Every part of the Olympics, including the arbitration process, should stand for fair play."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jordan Chiles says bronze medal should be decided fairly, accurately