A Swiss court ruling grants Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles a legal victory in the bronze medal fight

After more than 17 months, American gymnast Jordan Chiles achieved a legal victory after losing one of her Olympic medals.

On Thursday, the Swiss Federal Court, Switzerland’s highest court, announced the approval of Chiles’ appeal. The case regarding Chile’s bronze medal will now return to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), where it will be reconsidered.

The court cited video evidence that apparently shows Chiles’ coach doing an investigation into the star gymnast’s score within the required time frame.

The ruling moves Chiles toward resolution of a dispute marked by errors that cost him the bronze medal in floor exercise at the 2024 Summer Games.

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Historically, medal reallocations have arisen after doping or other cheating cases, but Chiles’ dispute centered on an apparent mistake by the International Gymnastics Federation, the sport’s governing body.

“In the extremely exceptional circumstances of the case in question, it considers that there is a probability that the audiovisual recording of the final of the [Aug. 5, 2024]to give rise to a modification of the contested award in [favor] of the plaintiffs, since the CAS was able to consider, in light of this audiovisual sequence, that the verbal investigation carried out on behalf of Jordan Chiles had been carried out before the regulatory period of one minute expired,” the court stated in a statement issued on January 23.

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Chiles’ appeal that questioned the independence of the president of the arbitration panel was not accepted.

Maurice Suh, a member of Chiles’ legal team, said in a statement that his client remains determined to keep the bronze medal she was awarded at the Paris Olympics.

“We are delighted that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has corrected a mistake and given Jordan the opportunity he deserves to claim his bronze medal,” Suh ​​said in a statement obtained by USA Today.

“As the court recognized, there is ‘conclusive’ video evidence that Jordan was the rightful winner of the bronze medal.

“We also appreciate the court’s recognition that ‘extraordinary time pressure’ and notification defects prevented Jordan from presenting this important evidence in August 2024. We appreciate that Jordan will receive a full and fair opportunity to defend his bronze medal.”

USA Gymnastics also reacted to the latest developments in the case, saying in a statement that the organization hopes Chiles gets a “fair” hearing.

“We are satisfied that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has recognized the defects of the initial process and that Jordan’s case can now be heard including all relevant evidence,” he said. “We look forward to a fair arbitration that includes clear evidence demonstrating that the investigation into Jordan’s score was submitted within one minute, as required by FIG rules.”

The federation has supported Chiles during the appeal process, presenting evidence and statements in favor of the gymnast.

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No date has been set for the new CAS hearing, but the arbitration body said it will follow the court’s ruling.

“Following the SFT’s decision, the CAS can now ensure a thorough judicial review of the new evidence that has since become available,” the CAS said in its statement.

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