Jordan Chiles earned her first individual Olympic medal in the floor final in Paris on Monday. Going from fifth place to Olympic floor bronze after Chiles’s coaches quickly appealed her score, bumping out Romania gymnast Ana Barbosu.
“She was out of the podium already, so even if they drop the score, [it’s] nothing worse,” said Laurent Landi, who coaches Chiles alongside his wife. “I was [at] the same angle as the judge. And I felt it was way better than all the other meets that she’s done, so what the heck? We might as well try.”
Chiles, who dubs herself the “I’m that girl” gymnast, jumped excitedly after the inquiry and changed scores with her coach. Her teammate Simone Biles seemed more thrilled to see Chiles take home the bronze, displaying both leadership and team-player goals. The two teammates embraced, and Biles stood alongside Chiles when asked by the reporter, “The raw emotion when you realized you made the podium, we could all feel it. What’s behind that bronze?” Chiles replied with an apparent loss of her voice.
“This is just a dream come true. This is my first time ever in an event final. Like we said, it was a redemption tour, and I just wanted to come out to do the best that I could, so the medal means everything. first event final, first event medal like oy my gosh! I have no words but I’m very proud of myself.”
Simone Biles won the silver medal, while Rebeca Andrade (Brazilian gymnast) won the gold medal, completing the podium.
Gold medalist Rebeca Andrade (C) of Team Brazil, silver medalist Simone Biles (L) of Team United States and bronze medalist Jordan Chiles (R) of Team United States (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Our support is also with Ana Barbosa, who showed her disappointment regarding the inquiry and change in scores. We wish her well in her gymnastics pursuits.
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