Jordan Chiles opens up about difficult time since losing medal: 'Ready to speak my truth'

Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles is opening up about what she says has been "a very difficult time" since she was essentially stripped of her bronze medal for the floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, talking with the "Today" show about her fight for what she says is right.

Chiles sat down with "Today" host Hoda Kotb on Monday and spoke about the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that moved her from third to fifth place days after the 23-year-old challenged the Olympic judges' score concerning one of the elements in her routine. The court sided with Romanian officials and deemed that Chiles submitted her challenge four seconds too late.

“Honestly, it’s been really, really hard just to comprehend everything that’s been happening,” Chiles told Kotb. “I’ve been able to finally now feel comfortable in a way to talk about what has been happening … It’s just been a difficult time for myself and I’m ready to speak on my truth.”

Chiles maintains that her challenge was on time and "everything was very right," the Olympian told Kotb.

“Everything was in the time that it needed to be,” she said, adding that she and her team have “proof” and that they submitted their inquiry correctly and promptly.

Jordan Chiles files two appeals of medal ruling

Chiles filed two appeals in September with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, requesting that the case involving her bronze medal be re-opened and for the Court of Arbitration for Sport to be ordered to consider new video evidence.

Chiles' appeals argued that the process leading to the court's procedures that led to her losing the medal "were fundamentally unfair," and that the ruling was based on a "critical factual error."

Chiles' legal team wrote in a September news release that their client was denied her “right to be heard" and alleged that the president of the court's arbitration panel had a conflict of interest because he had acted as a counsel for Romania, including in financial disputes since 2016 and at least two ongoing cases.

“This appeal is about much more than the bronze medal,” the legal team wrote. “Chiles is pursuing her case to encourage the entire Olympic community to take steps to ensure that future Olympians do not face a similar ordeal.”

Chiles' appeals also claim that the USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee only had less than 24 hours to prepare for the hearing because the court was sending emails to wrong or outdated addresses.

Jordan Chiles: 'I can only control what my truth is'

Chiles, who received a custom bronze clock from rapper Flavor Flav at the MTV Video Music Awards, is still continuing to hold out hope that the Swiss federal court will rule in her favor.

“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,’” Chiles told Kotb.

In the coming months, the Swiss Federal Tribunal will either confirm the ruling, effectively ending Chiles' fight, or it will send the case back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for reconsideration.

“I’ll be able to overcome this, and I’ll be able to look back and say, 'You know what, that was just a portion of my story, but it’s the truth.’ And that’s why I’m here today, is to tell my truth," she said during her interview.

Jordan Chiles has not committed to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles

Chiles told Kotb that she has not decided if she wants to return for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

“LA is in and out of my mind,” she said. “I think right now, I’m just trying to take in what’s happened from Paris and take (it) day by day.”

The 2028 Summer Olympics will run from July 14 to Jul 30, 2028.

Simone Biles: 'Keep your chin up Olympic champ!'

Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles and Suni Lee shared their support for Chiles, their fellow teammate, on social media.

“All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges??” Lee wrote in an Instagram story in August. “Completely unacceptable. this is awful and i’m gutted for Jordan. i got your back forever Jo. u have all my flowers and you will ALWAYS be an olympic champion.”

Biles shared an Instagram story in August with a picture of her and Chiles embracing after Chiles' floor routine and the caption "Sending you so much love Jordan. Keep your chin up Olympic champ! we love you!”

Chiles also said during the interview that she has not spoken to Ana Bărbosu − the Romanian gymnast who was awarded the bronze medal after it was stripped from Chiles − since the scoring incident, but she called the gymnast and her Romanian teammates "amazing athletes."

“We have not had any conversations. I know that she has put stuff out on social media the same way that I was doing, and you know, they’re both amazing athletes and whatever she’s going through, I’m very, very sorry,” she said. “I’ve been going through the exact same thing, but I haven’t spoken to her directly.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jordan Chiles talks to 'Today' about difficult time since losing medal