Ana Barbosu reacted to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) plan to award her the bronze medal after stripping Jordan Chiles of the honor.
“Sabrina [Maneca-Voinea], Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling because I’ve been through the same,” Barbosu, 18, wrote via Instagram Story on Sunday, August 11. “But I know you’ll come back stronger.”
She added, “I hope from deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share the same podium. This is my true dream.”
According to Barbosu, “this situation” wouldn’t exist if “the persons in charge had respected the regulation.”
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“We athletes are not to be blamed and the hate directed to us is painful,” the Romanian gymnast said. “I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world.”
Chiles, Barbosu, and Maneca-Voinea were three of the participants in the women’s floor exercise final on Monday, August 5. The trio were all vying for bronze behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and the United States of America’s Simone Biles. Barbosu was initially announced as the third-place winner moments before Team USA filed an inquiry into the difficulty of one of Chiles’ jumps.
The judges agreed with the inquiry, boosting Chiles’ score from 13.666 to 13.766 to top Barbosu for the podium finish. With Chiles, 23, in third place, it was the first time three Black gymnasts stood on the Olympic podium.
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The following day, Team Romania filed an inquiry into Team USA’s request and cited that it was past the deadline. The CAS concurred with the request on Saturday, August 10, reverting Chiles score back to 13.666 and noting it was up to the discretion of the IOC to strip athletes of medals.
“Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu,” the IOC’s Sunday statement read. “We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”
The United States’ Olympic committee, meanwhile, plans to appeal the decision.
