Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes is weighing in on Jordan Chiles‘ bronze medal drama after the Paris Games.
“The sport of gymnastics is a subjective sport, and if you could get human error out of it, then you won’t run into these situations whatsoever,” Dawes, 47, said in an interview with TMZ published on Wednesday, August 14. “My final Olympic Games, which was in 2000, we as a team, we ended up competing and doing the best job that we could. We ended up getting fourth place, and then, 10 years later, we were awarded an Olympic bronze medal because a Chinese gymnast was found to be underage. And so, you do have these type[s] of situations that do occur.”
Dawes competed at three Olympic Games throughout her career, earning bronze in the team all-arounds in Barcelona in 1992 and Sydney in 2000, as well as winning a team gold in Atlanta in 1996. Similar to Chiles, 23, Dawes scored an individual bronze medal in the floor exercise final at the Atlanta Games.
“They’re completely outside of the control of some of these athletes, and you just learn to — I’m not gonna say roll with it — but you learn to make sure it doesn’t break you,” Dawes said of the scoring and medal process. “You learn from it, and you keep moving forward.”
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Dawes is one of the latest public figures to share her thoughts on the controversy surrounding Chiles’ win. She initially placed fifth in the competition on August 5, but after Team USA coaches submitted an inquiry into her routine, her score was increased. The change bumped Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu out of third place and off the podium. (Chiles’ teammate Simone Biles got the silver medal, while Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won gold.)
Less than a week later, the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) declared that the inquiry was improperly granted as it was placed four seconds after their one-minute deadline. As a result, the International Olympic Committee ruled that Chiles would be stripped of her medal, which would be reallocated to Barbosu, 18.
Dawes noted that the situation is an “emotional roller-coaster” not only for Chiles, but also for Barbosu. “[Jordan] actually did have that Olympic medal ceremony experience. A lot of athletes that are awarded Olympic medals down the road because of a violation or a certain rule that was broken, they didn’t have that Olympic medal ceremony experience,” she explained. “She got that experience.”
She continued: “And not only did she get that experience, it was an iconic image that was taken from it. It was an all-Black female podium shot that has never occurred before and may not occur again in the sport of gymnastics.”
Dawes said that Chiles — who has since announced a break from social media — is probably leaning on her loved ones as the scandal continues to play out. “Her support system, more than likely, is telling her she did everything that she should have done and she earned that bronze medal,” she said. “The mistake was made by the judge.”
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Along with her family, Dawes thinks Biles, 27, will be a champion for her teammate. “She’s been outspoken about the support or lack thereof from USA Gymnastics, and we’ll see if they choose to stand up for their athletes as they maybe haven’t done so much in the past,” she added.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee appealed the reallocation of Chiles’ medal, with USA Gymnastics claiming “video footage” from the event proves the inquiry was made within the time limit. The CAS announced on Monday, August 12, that they will not reopen the appeal. Barbosu is set to receive Chiles’ medal during a ceremony in the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday, August 16.
