American Gymnast, Jordan Chiles, was born April 15th, 2001 in Tualatin, Oregon. After playing for the UCLA Bruins in College, she became a prominent member of the United States national gymnastics team. A two-time Olympic medalist, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with her crucial help, the U.S. team won a silver medal. Recently, in the 2024 Paris Olympics, she received the highest score on floor exercise, and performed amazingly on vault, balance beam, and uneven bars, helping the U.S. team secure a gold medal.

Though she had extraordinary success in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Chiles faced with an obstacle after her floor routine. Initially, she came in fourth place for her routine, but her coach appealed a deduction putting her in third place and getting her a bronze medal.

With that happening Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu moved down to fourth place. This left the Romanian Gymnastics Federation questioning the validity of the appeal. It was then released that the appeal was submitted four seconds after the one minute window given. This seemingly small mistake caused Chiles to be stripped of her medal. The United States team claims they have proof that they submitted the appeal twice under the one minute window, but they have not been allowed to present it. Some believe that taking the medal was extreme and unfair, but others think it was the right thing to do.

“Rules are rules….If you change the rules for one person, It’s going to get brought up in a different situation and then you’ll have to change the rules again,” said Dean of Students, Mr. James Rydborn.

“Of course it wasn’t fair….The United States team has proof that the appeal was submitted twice within the one minute window,” added English teacher Dr. Rafael Montes

“Yes and no….They should’ve shared the medal since it was a mistake,” concluded Coach Anthony Vuono.

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