The contention regarding Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal is far from settled.

On Monday, Chiles’ legal team revealed they have lodged a formal appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal concerning the women’s floor exercise final results from the 2024 Paris Olympics. They are asking the tribunal to overturn a previous decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that effectively removed Chiles from the podium.

Originally, Chiles was awarded third place after questioning the judges’ score on a part of her routine. However, she was demoted back to fifth place days later when CAS ruled that her challenge was submitted four seconds late. Following this, the International Olympic Committee requested Chiles return her bronze medal and granted it to Romania’s Anna Barbosu, who was promoted to third place afterward.

“Jordan Chiles’ appeals raise a clear legal issue for the international community – should an Olympic athlete, who has pleased the judges, be deprived of her medal because of obvious unfairness in a makeshift arbitration procedure?” stated attorney Maurice Suh. “The response to this should unequivocally be no. Fair play must be upheld across all Olympic facets, including the arbitration process.”

Additionally, the statement indicated that Chiles plans to submit another petition, seeking further and alternative solutions from the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.

“Both petitions could lead to a retrial of this case before CAS, allowing her for the first time to prepare a defense and present evidence, including video showing her coach submitted the scoring inquiry on time,” the statement added.

Chiles’ appeal to the Swiss tribunal, the highest court in the country, represents a notable and somewhat uncommon move. Typically, CAS serves as the ultimate decision-maker in legal disputes within international sports, resolving cases that are often initiated by federations such as the Romanian Gymnastics Federation against the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

Generally, the Swiss tribunal only overturns CAS decisions when there are clear procedural faults, lack of jurisdiction, or violations of Swiss public policy.

Chiles’ legal representatives stated in a press release that they argue the CAS ruling was “procedurally deficient” for two main reasons. They claim her essential “right to a hearing” was compromised as CAS chose not to consider new video evidence that became available post-hearing, which demonstrates her scoring inquiry was submitted on time. They also assert that the CAS hearing was biased because Chiles was not made aware of a significant conflict of interest involving Hamid Gharavi, the arbitration panel’s president, who had represented Romania in previous cases.

“Due to these undeniable errors, Chiles requests the Federal Supreme Court to restore the score she rightfully earned during the floor event final,” stated the law firms Gibson Dunn and Homburger AG in the press release.

Furthermore, the statement noted that Chiles’ appeal has the backing of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which has consistently criticized CAS’s management of the case, particularly concerning the timing of notifications.

While CAS attempted to notify all relevant parties of the issue on August 6, the USOPC and USA Gymnastics stated they were informed only three days later — just under 24 hours before the hearing was set to start. USA Gymnastics has pointed out that the notifications about the case were wrongly sent to incorrect email addresses.

The governing bodies also expressed disappointment with CAS’s choice not to take into account the video evidence that they contend was discovered after the CAS hearing and clearly validates that Chiles’ inquiry was timely. CAS has opted not to revisit the case to consider this new evidence.

The USOPC stated, “Alongside Jordan’s counsel and USA Gymnastics, we are following a collective approach, with Jordan’s team managing the primary appeal. We are resolutely committed to ensuring she receives the acknowledgment she rightfully deserves due to glaring errors made by CAS and clear evidence that supports her bronze win.”

USA Gymnastics reiterated its support for Chiles’ appeal and confirmed that it will collaborate with her legal team.

“We will submit supportive documents to the court as we pursue justice for Jordan,” USAG stated.

The dispute centers on narrow differences, specifically a mere tenth of a point, separating Chiles from Barbosu for the bronze medal.

Chiles and her coaches believed she did not receive full credit for a split leap known as a tour jete full. Her personal coach, Cecile Landi, who also served as the coach for the U.S. team in Paris, filed a scoring inquiry that led to a review of that specific component’s score. This inquiry was successful, granting her an additional 0.10 points, placing her in bronze position and bumping Barbosu off the podium.

However, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation brought the issue to CAS, arguing that the inquiry was submitted four seconds beyond the allowed one-minute limit.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) agreed with the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and took action against the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), instructing them to change the results of a specific competition. Following this ruling, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) requested that Chiles return her bronze medal.

This ruling was initiated by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation along with Barbosu, targeting FIG and Donatella Sacchi, who is in charge of FIG’s technical committee for women’s gymnastics. Although Chiles, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), and USA Gymnastics (USAG) were not direct parties in the case, they participated as “interested parties,” as noted by CAS.

Despite this, it was Chiles who ended up facing penalties, which she pointed out was unjust. That is why she is determined to keep fighting, as she expressed last week.

“At this point, it’s not really just about the medal,” she stated. “It’s about achieving my peace and finding justice.”

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