Jordan Chiles is reflecting on the moment she won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics women’s floor final. The 23-year-old artistic gymnast appeared on TODAY, where she opened up about her feelings on being bumped to third place rather than fifth after Team USA challenged the judges’ initial score.
“Honestly, there were so many emotions going through my body in that moment,” Jordan said during the Thursday, August 8, interview. “There [were] a lot of things happening, [from] me not being on the podium to me being on the podium. I think the biggest thing is just always understanding not to doubt yourself, and just to let everything ride out how it’s supposed to be.”
While thanking her teammate and long-time friend Simone Biles for being part of her “support system,” Jordan added that the 27-year-old gymnastics GOAT is “like a big sister to [her],” and her coach, Cécile Canqueteau-Landi “is like another mom.”
“That was definitely a great moment to have,” the Olympian added. “Simone has done so much for me, I feel like, in that moment, I realized that.”
The now-viral moment has divided viewers around the world. Last weekend, Jordan was initially in fifth place after completing her floor routine, and Romania’s Ana Bărbosu had the third place spot. Jordan’s coach, Cécile, promptly submitted an inquiry to the judges to challenge the difficulty score. After running out with the Romanian flag to celebrate, Ana noticed that the judges updated the athletes’ placements, moving Jordan up to third instead of her. Ana was then seen walking away in tears.
Jordan celebrated by emotionally hugging her coach and Simone before they received their medals at the podium.
Over the past week, social media users expressed outrage over the matter. Even Romania’s prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, announced he will not attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics in protest of Ana being “brutally deprived” of the placement she initially had.
Most recently, Jordan’s coach spoke out about the situation via social media to explain how the athlete’s score was changed.
“Jordan’s highest possible SV on floor is a 5.9,” Cécile explained. “At quals and team finals she received a 5.8 and we didn’t question it because we saw that not all elements were completed. During floor finals, we thought [it] was better and being placed 5th with nothing to lose, I sent the inquiry so I wouldn’t regret not asking. I didn’t think it would be accepted and at my surprise it was.”
