Former Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman slammed the ‘cruel’ process of Jordan Chiles being stripped of her bronze medal.
The 30-year-old said she was gutted for the athlete when she spoke out about the medal controversy during an appearance on the Today show.
‘This is just so heartbreaking and I’m just so gutted for Jordan. I can’t even imagine what this past week has been like for Jordan and the other athletes involved,’ Raisman told hosts Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin on Monday.
‘I don’t think people realize these gymnasts work their entire lives for this moment, and it’s supposed to be a celebration,’ the six-time Olympic medalist went on.
‘This was one of my favorite moments at the Olympics, watching Jordan celebrate. I think it’s so unfair. It’s so cruel.’
Aly Raisman slammed the ‘cruel’ process of Jordan Chiles being stripped of her bronze medal
‘This is just so heartbreaking and I’m just so gutted for Jordan,’ she said on the Today show
Chiles initially finished fifth in the floor final but USA appealed the decision and her score was increased enough for her to rise into third place instead of Romania’s Ana Barbosu.
However, a bombshell decision from the Court of Arbitration of Sport a few days later ruled that the judging panel were wrong to allow Chiles’ score to be increased as the appeal came outside the one minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation.
Raisman, who won two gold medals at the 2012 Olympics and another at Rio 2016, suggested the International Olympic Committee should award two bronze medals.
‘I think it’s so unfair, it’s so cruel and I don’t think that Jordan should have to give her medal back. The IOC has given more than one medal before and I think that they should do that now,’ she said.
Raisman was in a similar situation when she competed on the beam at the 2012 Games in London.
She was awarded the bronze medal after her coaches challenged her fourth-place score.
Raisman won two gold medals at the 2012 Olympics and another in 2016 at Rio
USA Gymnastics is fighting for Chiles to keep hold of her bronze medal from the Paris Games
Romania’s Ana Barbosu was in third place before the United States’ Olympic inquiry
‘As an athlete, we trust the process. We trust that the rules are in place, that there’s been a lot of thought behind it, and that the rules are there to be fair. Going forward, we need to understand how this is happening and how to ensure this doesn’t happen again,’ the former Olympian went on.
‘I think that the organizations that are in charge of this need to really look at the athletes’ mental health and how much this is affecting them, and how cruel it is to take a medal away from someone.’
USA Gymnastics has vowed to continue fighting for Chiles. In a statement, the organization said, ‘USA Gymnastics was notified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday that their rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented.
‘We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure that just scoring, placement and medal award for Jordan.’
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