Jordan Chiles is doubling down on her efforts to reclaim her Olympic gymnastics medal that was stripped after a controversial ruling, saying, "That bronze medal was given to me in the right way."
Chiles, 23, told NBC’s “TODAY” show Monday that it had "honestly been a very difficult time" since the Olympics wrapped up, as she and her lawyers pursued legal avenues to have her medal officially returned.
While Chiles said she still physically has the medal, the official results show that she finished fifth.
“It's hard to tell yourself everything is going to be fine when we literally didn’t do anything wrong. Everything was in the time that it needed to be," Chiles said in her first live TV interview about the ordeal. “For them to come back and say it was four seconds too late when we have proof … I can only control what my truth is, and I know that we were right.”
Chiles originally finished fifth in the floor exercise event at the Paris Olympics in August. Her coach, Cecile Landi, saw that judges had erred in evaluating the degree of difficulty for an element of her routine and her score was corrected, landing her in third place.
However, on the last day of the Games, the International Olympic Committee announced it would abide by a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that Landi made the protest 64 seconds after scores were posted — four seconds past the 1-minute deadline. But Chiles said video evidence from the competition showed that the inquiry call was made within 60 seconds.
Chiles lost the bronze, which was awarded to Romanian Ana Bărbosu, 18.
In September, Chiles, with the support of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, filed an appeal and asked Switzerland’s Supreme Court to overturn the ruling that lost her the medal.
Also that month, Chiles, whose father is Black and whose mother is Latina, said she has endured racist internet criticism in the wake of the international dispute.
NBC’s Hoda Kotb asked Chiles why the medal means so much. After all, she still has a team gold from Paris and a bronze she won three years ago in Tokyo.
“It was like a cherry on top. My redemption tour going into Paris was 'Yes.' Coming back with a gold, coming back with the understanding that I was able to go out there and be the best version of myself,” she said. “With this floor medal it was like, 'wow, I never expected myself to make a floor final.'"
"Plus it was an all-Black podium. That was history being made. I was very glad to be a part of," she added.
Ultimately, Chiles said, she sees the dispute as an opportunity to overcome the hurdles that come her way.
“I’ll be able to overcome this. And I’ll be able to look back and say: ‘You know what? That was just a portion of my story, but it’s the truth,’” she said.
Asked about competing in the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 2028, Chiles said: “L.A. is in and out of my mind. I think right now I’m just trying to take in what’s happened from Paris and just take day by day."