Months after U.S. Olympian Jordan Chiles had her bronze medal stripped by officials, the American gymnast gave her first live interview since the incident.
In August, Chiles' coach, Cecile Landi, had filed an appeal soon after the gymnast completed her floor routine at the Olympics on the belief that her score didn't accurately reflect the difficulty of her routine. This elevated Chiles to third while pushing Romanian Ana Barbosu out of medal contention.
Barbosu's team later fought the decision, saying the on-site inquiry from Team USA came in four seconds after the one-minute deadline to appeal. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in the Romanians' favor, voiding Landi's appeal and deciding Chiles' bronze medal had to be reallocated to Barbosu.
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But U.S. Olympic officials have contended that it has evidence that Landi's appeal came before the deadline, but Olympics officials say their decision is final.
This situation created an emotional whirlwind for Chiles.
“Honestly, it’s been really, really hard just to comprehend everything that’s been happening,” Chiles told NBC's "Today." “I’ve been able to finally now feel comfortable in a way to talk about what has been happening."
Chiles said she has been reminded that "everything happens for a reason."
“I think now, it’s just the support that’s been around me that I’ve been like, ‘OK, I can’t control anything that’s happening on the outside, I can only control what my truth is, and I know what the truth is, and I know that we were right in everything that we were doing,’” she added.
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Chiles' interview came on the same day Sports Illustrated announced that she would be a 2025 SI Swimsuit Issue athlete. Chiles posed for the magazine's May issue.
Chiles is also preparing for a return to competition. She is rejoining the UCLA Bruins after a year off from college athletics to prepare for the Olympics.
