Jordan Chiles appears to be ready to put the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics — and her bronze medal reallocation — behind her.
In her first social media post in almost two weeks, the Team USA gymnast, 23, shared an Instagram carousel of herself in a skimpy patterned bikini on Tuesday, August 28.
“Golden paradise 💛🍯🌻✨,” Chiles, who was stripped of her individual floor routine medal following a dispute filed by the Romanian team, captioned the post.
In one of the snaps, Chiles can be seen smiling behind a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses as she sits upright on what appears to be a poolside daybed. Two accompanying photos show Chiles fixing her hair and looking off to the side.
The social media resurfacing follows Chiles’ August 10 Instagram Stories announcement detailing her decision to step away from social media as she dealt with the medal reallocation.
Five days later, she issued a statement via Instagram and X that addressed the medal controversy.
“I am overwhelmed by the love I have received over the past few days. I am also incredibly grateful to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, USAG and the USOPC for their unwavering support during this difficult time,” Chiles shared via Instagram on August 15. “While celebrating my Olympic accomplishments, I heard the devastating news that my bronze medal had been stripped away. I had confidence in the appeal brought by USAG, who gave conclusive evidence that my score followed all the rules. This appeal was unsuccessful.”
During the Olympics, Chiles competed in the individual women’s floor exercise final staged on August 5. The initial results found Chiles in fifth place, however, Team USA requested an inquiry that shifted Chiles into third place with a final score of 13.766. Chiles was awarded a bronze medal while Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and Chiles’ Team USA teammate Simone Biles won gold and silver, respectively.
The Romanian enquiry argued that Team USA’s request for an enquiry came in four seconds after it was allowed. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed, ruling on August 11 that Chiles would have to return the bronze medal to Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu.
Chiles’ final score was changed to 13.666, putting her back into fifth position and Barbosu, 18, was given the medal on August 16, one day after Chiles issued her statement via social media.
Current and former Team USA members spoke out in defense of Chiles amid the controversy.
Most recently, Biles, 27, told People that she disapproves of the IOC’s ruling. “Do we think they did the correct procedure to come to this ruling? No,” she told the outlet in an article published on Monday, August 26. “That’s really why we want that justice for Jordan and why we’re going to keep supporting her and uplifting her.”
Aly Raisman, who competed for the United States in 2012 and 2016, also told Us Weekly exclusively on Thursday, August 22, that she was “so devastated for her.”
“I hope that things change and she gets to keep her medal because it’s not right. It’s so disappointing to me because I feel like it goes against the integrity of the sport and of the Olympics,” Raisman, 30, said.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) plans to appeal the IOC’s decision to reallocate Chiles’ medal.
“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] appeal process that need to be addressed,” the USOPC said in an August 11 statement to the Associated Press. “The initial error occurred in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision.”
