Gymnast Jordan Chiles granted appeal in Olympic bronze medal ruling; Swiss court will review the case

American gymnast Jordanian chillies has been granted an appeal in his efforts to regain the floor exercise bronze medal that was awarded to him stripped of it at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Switzerland’s Supreme Court said Thursday that its judges sent the “highly exceptional circumstances” of the bronze medal awarded in the women’s floor exercise to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to examine new evidence.

The outcome of an event that created a celebrated Olympic photograph featuring Chiles, floor exercise silver medalist Simone Biles and gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil (all women of color) depends on just a few seconds: Can the U.S. team prove it made a timely appeal in the Olympic arena on Chiles’ behalf?

The ruling by Swiss federal judges, highly unusual in cases of this nature, suggested Chiles could regain the bronze medal he originally won in Paris after challenging his score.

Chiles’ third place was annulled a few days after an appeal filed by the Romanian team before the CAS Olympic tribunal in Paris. The medal was awarded in Bucharest the following week to Ana María Barbosu.

Chiles said at the time that the decision felt “unfair and is a significant blow, not only for me, but for everyone who has defended my trip.”

The federal court wants the CAS to examine a recording that could show that the United States’ original challenge to the judged result was made within one minute on the field of play.

“In the highly exceptional circumstances of the case in question,” the Swiss Federal Court said in a statement, “it considers that there is a probability that the audiovisual recording of the final on August 5, 2024 will lead to a modification of the contested award in favor of the claimant (Chiles).”

The CAS said in a statement Thursday that it “can now ensure a thorough judicial review of the new evidence that has since become available.”

Both the CAS and the Swiss Supreme Court, based in Lausanne, considered the Olympic capital, did not give a timetable for the review. It will likely take at least a year to prepare and process before a verdict is ready.

Still, the federal court’s decision has given Chiles renewed hope of keeping his medal and putting the controversy behind him.

“We are delighted that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has corrected a mistake and given Jordan the opportunity he deserves to regain his bronze medal,” Maurice M. Suh, part of the legal team representing Chiles, said in a statement. “As the Court recognized, there is ‘conclusive’ video evidence that Jordan was the rightful winner of the bronze medal.”

Suh added that Chiles will “fight vigorously” and is grateful to have a “full and fair opportunity to defend her bronze medal.”

USA Gymnastics praised the court for recognizing “the flaws in the initial process and that Jordan’s case can now be heard including all relevant evidence.”

“USA Gymnastics will continue to support Jordan and her team’s efforts to retain her 2024 Olympic women’s floor exercise bronze medal,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement. “We look forward to a fair arbitration that includes clear evidence demonstrating that the investigation into Jordan’s score was submitted within 1 minute as required by FIG rules.”

Chiles, now 24, has moved on with his life after dealing with major online reaction (some of them with racial overtones) immediately after.

She returned to compete collegiately at UCLA while also building on her burgeoning celebrity, participating in the reality competition “Dancing With the Stars,” posing for Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue and currently appearing in a commercial for a women’s sportswear line that also features tennis icon Serena Williams and track star Sha’Carri Richardson.