If you’d been watching the Olympics over the past weeks, you probably saw some domination from the US Women’s Gymnastics team in the team event. The ladies also pulled out a slew of medals in the individual apparatus events, with G.O.A.T. Simone Biles winning gold in the all-around and the vault, but it was the individual floor that had a bunch of tongues wagging after Jordan Chiles was alleged to be “cheating” by some fans. Now, her coach is speaking out.
What Happened During The 2024 Paris Individual Floor Event
During the floor finals, the main story was the close race between Simone Biles and Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, but the race for third place was very close. Ultimately, Ana Barbosu had placed third in the floor event, scoring just slightly above Chiles with a 13.700, after the American was initially scored in fifth place with a 13.666. Her coach was a little confused about the results and sent an inquiry asking for a review, after which the judges admitted they’d miscored one of her elements and gave Chiles back a 10th of a point. Unfortunately for Barbosu, this meant her medal was taken away and that Romania ended up in fourth and fifth place during this event, with Chiles bumping up to third.
Honestly, if the judges mess up like that, it sucks that two medals couldn’t just be handed out, but that’s not the way the Olympics works. As exciting as it was to have two Americans on the podium, it was also hard to watch the switch happen because the 18-year-old gymnast from Romania had already been celebrating with her flag. She thought she’d clinched it, but she hadn’t, and some viewers were upset about it.
The Olympics appeals process has come into play in several of the events I’ve been watching, not just the women’s individual apparatus and floor events. But after the decision was handed down, some Olympics fans took to the Internet to accuse Biles and the US Team of being over the line. In fact, some even commented on Jordan Chiles’ coaches celebratory post, and she had a lot to say about the alleged “cheating” incident.
What Jordan Chiles’ Coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi Had To Say About The Allegations
While Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade were happy about their being an all-Black podium for the event, not everyone felt the judgment was fair. One Olympics viewer took to the comments on coach Cecile Canqueteua-Landi’s celebratory post to state: “The coaches cheated so Jordan could get a medal!”
Coach Canqueteau-Landi did not feel she needed to justify this with a response, but she did so anyway, writing in the comments on her Instagram post:
I shouldn’t have to explain but I will ONCE. Jordan’s highest possible SV on floor is a 5.9- 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 I 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.
The inquiry was made because Chiles’ coach was surprised her score wasn’t higher and it looked like the judges may have missed a skill. She specifically inquired about the tour jeté leap, and it sounds like she simply thought an inquiry might lead to clarification. However, in the course of looking over the US gymnast’s floor routine, instead the judges realized they had made a mistake and took a second stab at scoring her.
It was unfortunate for the Romanian gymnast who had landed in third place, but Canqueteau-Landi went on to say the inquiry was fair. She also asked that fans “respect the outcome” moving forward.
Jordan won this bronze medal and didn’t steal anything from anyone. I simply did my job and fought for my athlete. Do I feel bad for the Romanian athlete? Of course I do! It was so sad and heartbreaking to see but it is the sport! You don’t have to like it but you do have to respect the outcome and more importantly respect Jordan and not drag her down because you disagree. She EARNED that bronze medal, her 1st individual Olympic medal and I couldn’t be more proud and excited!
Chiles said much the same thing after she’d wrapped the event and done some press, noting she hadn’t been credited for a skill she’d completed and she was "proud" after simply earning points she should have earned in the first place.
At the end of the day, I was so tired I didn’t realize my coaches had put in an inquiry. Then I was like, ‘OK, yeah, let’s see.’ It can vary, so when it came through I was like very proud of myself. It was my first event final and my first event medal. It was crazy.
Meanwhile, in the days since the event hit the 2024 TV schedule, Romania's Mihai Covaliu sent a message that was later posted to Facebook requesting that other gymnast Sabrina Voinea Maneca score be looked at, writing they "request" a "review by the decisive factors of the case of the Romanian athlete Sabrina Maneca Voinea." Maneca reportedly quit gymnastics after the 2024 Olympics after she ended up in fifth place. The post also called Ana Barbosu a "victim" after she'd been told she landed third and the bronze medal was then retracted.
Despite the gymnastics drama, there's been a lot of great 2024 Olympics moments so far, including the Internet rallying around pommel horse guy and more. We’re wrapping up the major Olympics events this weekend, but if you are interested in how to watch the brand new breaking competition in Paris 2024, we have you covered on the details. And if you're looking for more on Simone Biles and co, there's a great Rising documentary on Netflix now.
