To put it mildly, this particular medal’s journey has not been easy. When it came time to score the participating gymnasts, the Aug. 5 event caused uncertainty.
The 23-year-old’s score was increased from 13.666 to 13.766 at the time when coach Cecile Landi of Chiles filed an inquiry. This move moved her up from fifth place to third, ahead of both Barbosu and Maneca-Voineau.
The American athlete’s coach filed an inquiry, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland subsequently declared it illegal, stating that the coach did so four seconds after
the allotted one minute had passed. Then, the International Gymnastics Federation changed the standings, moving Barbosu of Romania up to the third slot.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s appeal, which supported Chiles’s bronze medal—her first individual Olympic honor—was turned down.
