‘Racism Is Alive and Well’: Team USA’s Jordan Chiles Gets Support From Simone Biles as Romania’s Protest Gets Her Medal Stripped

Team USA’s breakout star Jordan Chiles may be forced to give up the Olympic bronze medal she received on Aug. 5, following a surprising ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Saturday, Aug. 10. The decision came after protest from Romania, one of the nearly two dozen European teams competing, challenged the appeal that initially secured Chiles’ spot on the podium in the women’s individual floor exercise competition. The podium could have been historic, as it would be the only one to have all women of African descent standing. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won the gold and Simone Biles claimed the silver after the competition was complete. Simone Biles shows support for Jordan Chiles amid bronze medal controversy (Photos: @simonebiles/Instagram; @jordanchiles/Instagram) Initially, Chiles’ floor routine placed fifth with a score of 13.666. However, her score was upgraded to 13.766 after Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, approached the officials regarding a jump that was initially given a lower difficulty score. Landi argued that the judges failed to recognize Chiles’ execution of a split leap — or a tour jeté full, as it’s known in gymnastics terms — and incorrectly awarded her a 5.800 difficulty score instead of a 5.900....