US gymnast Jordan Chiles says video evidence should be considered in bronze medal appeal

American gymnast Jordan Chiles says video evidence from the floor exercise final at the Paris Olympics proves she followed the rules and should be taken into consideration by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as she continues her battle to regain the bronze medal.

Chiles was forced to relinquish the medal when CAS ruled last month in favour of an appeal by Romanian gymnast Ana Maria Barbosu, who was subsequently awarded bronze even though Chiles received the medal at the ceremony.

Barbosu and his team had appealed to CAS, claiming that an investigation filed by the U.S. team into the floor exercise results was recorded four seconds after the one-minute time limit allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation.

On the day of the floor final, Chiles was promoted from fifth to third, her score increasing from 13.666 to 13.766 after one of her coaches submitted an inquiry.

The success of the Romanian appeal led to a deterioration in Chiles’ score, which dropped her to fifth place. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won gold while pre-competition favourite Simone Biles took silver.

Last week, Chiles appealed the CAS decision to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and on Tuesday, her lawyers said CAS should be required to review the video evidence, which was recorded as part of a Netflix documentary about Biles.

Chiles’ lawyers believe that the CAS should be forced to reopen the proceedings to examine video and audio evidence, which the court had previously failed to consider.

“We believe CAS must consider the entirety of the audio and video recordings that show that Jordan undoubtedly followed all the rules on the field and during his investigation,” said Maurice Suh, a partner at the law firm Gibson Dunn and Chiles’ attorney.

“Not to do so would be fundamentally unfair and inequitable. Jordan is grateful for the outpouring of support she has received in her efforts to achieve the right outcome.”

A decision from the Swiss court is expected within the next four to six months, a source told Reuters.

Reuters