Cecile Landi, the coach of gymnast Jordan Chiles, spoke about the floor event final at the Olympic Games, which generated a huge scandal. The American overtook the Romanians Ana Maria Bărbosu and Sabrina Voinea after the referees validated the appeal filed immediately after the end of the test, in which Chiles initially finished in 5th place.
Jordan Chiles, proud of the medals won at the Olympic Games. Photo X
“I shouldn’t have to give an explanation, but I will. The best result that Jordan could have had from the ground start was 5.9. In the qualifiers and in the team finals, he got a 5.8 and I didn’t dispute this decision, I noticed that not all elements were filled. To be ranked 5th, having nothing to lose, I sent the appeal.
They did not believe that the appeal would be accepted
I didn’t want to regret not doing it. I didn’t think it would be accepted, but to my surprise, it was. Jordan won the medal, he didn’t steal anything from anyone! If I feel sorry for the athlete from Romania? Of course! It was sad to see that, but that’s the sport.”said Cecile Landi.
Ana Maria Bărbosu watched in amazement as her medal was taken away. Capture TV
The floor final went around the world not only because Ana Maria Bărbosu lost the medal following the appeal filed by the Americans, but also because the referees erroneously de-pointed Sabrina Voinea by a tenth, considering that she exceeded the competition surface .
As it was clear from the replays that the Romanian did not commit this mistake, COSR and FRG addressed the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the International Gymnastics Federation. The answer must come by Sunday, when the Olympics end.
