The medal drama controversy which engulfed Jordan Chiles at this summer's Paris Olympics has taken a fresh twist after new footage emerged that has the potential to change the result yet again in the saga.
The 23-year-old American gymnast competed at her second Olympics at the French capital earlier this year.
She won silver at Tokyo 2020 in the Team event, and claimed gold with the rest of her team-mates this summer in the Paris edition of the same category.
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On an individual level, Chiles competed in the gymnastics floor exercise but her initial score was not enough to appear on the rostrum and claim a medal, but an inquiry on her D-score raised it and elevated her to third place and therefore a bronze.
However, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation ended up appealing this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), arguing the inquiry was made a minute past the deadline and ought to have not been accepted.
It led to the International Gymnastics Federation (IGF) reinstating Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu to third place and demoting Chiles to her original score, which placed her fifth.
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The International Olympic Committee later upheld CAS's findings and led to USA Gymnastics (USAG) appealing the ruling with evidence the appeal was submitted below the minute deadline, but CAS denied this.
However, Chiles has continued her fight to reclaim the bronze medal which was taken away from her and a fresh development has emerged.
The gymnast's lawyers has asked CAS to reopen the case after fresh footage has emerged which it did not consider at the time of the appeal, and it could change things considerably.
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The fresh evidence suggests the original appeal was indeed made in good time and consequently the decision to demote Chiles was incorrect.
A statement by Chiles's attorneys to CNN said: "The evidence in question – footage from a documentary crew that was recording the women’s gymnastics floor finals – proves that CAS’s prior decision rested on a critical factual error that was compounded by the fact that CAS allowed Chiles less than a day to prepare for her hearing.
"CAS stripped Chiles’s bronze medal based on its conclusion that Chiles’s coach was four seconds late in making a verbal inquiry to correct Chiles’s score, but the new evidence clearly shows that the inquiry was made on time."
The move has also been supported by USAG, which has filed a brief to reopen CAS's decision.
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A USAG statement read: "The audiovisual evidence which CAS refused to consider clearly proves Jordan’s bronze-medal finish in Paris was correct.
“With today’s filing, we are simply asking that the CAS arbitration be decided based on a true and accurate understanding of facts.
"As Jordan has publicly stated, the case at this point is about her peace and justice, and the right of all athletes to be treated fairly. We all continue to pursue justice for Jordan."
It remains to be sent how CAS will respond to the matter, but the new evidence could change the medal results yet again.
Topics: Olympics, Gymnastics
John McDougall