TRUE METTLE

U.S. Olympic Gymnast Jordan Chiles Tearfully Recalls Bronze Medal Controversy

“To me, everything that has gone on, it’s not about the medal, it’s about my skin color,” she said.

U.S. Gymnast Jordan Chiles has tearfully recalled the emotional impact of having her bronze medal win stripped during the recent Paris Olympics. She was speaking on stage during Wednesday’s Forbes Power Women’s Summit in New York City as she recalled the headline-grabbing moment. “The biggest thing that was taken from me was that it was the recognition of who I was, not just my sport, but the person I am,” Chiles, 23, told the audience. “To me, everything that has gone on, it’s not about the medal, it’s about my skin color. It’s about the fact that there were things that have led up to this position of being an athlete, and I felt like everything has been stripped.” Chiles medal was re-allocated to Romanian Ana Barbosu after a scoring dispute, during which it was ruled that the American and her coach had submitted a score inquiry after the one-minute deadline. “I felt like when I was back in 2018 where I did lose the love of the sport, I lost it again,” she said, referring to when she was dealing with an emotionally abusive coach. “I just feel like there wasn’t a lot of people supporting me who I thought could support me in that situation ... That is one thing that I feel now, in this instance of being in this situation, that I wasn’t able to be heard.”