The International Olympic Committee said Thursday morning that Romania can award gymnast Ana Barbosu a bronze medal, opening the door for what Romanian officials have said will be a medal ceremony Friday in the midst of the highly controversial worldwide sports drama.
“The FIG (International Gymnastics Federation) adjusted ranking is based on a final CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) award, which is binding on all the parties,” the IOC said in a statement emailed to USA TODAY Sports. “While a challenge in the Swiss Federal Supreme Court is still possible, the CAS award is immediately enforceable and Ms. Barbosu is entitled to receive the bronze medal.”
American Jordan Chiles is in the United States and still has possession of the bronze medal that was awarded to her in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics, two people with knowledge of the situation who did not want to be identified have told USA TODAY Sports.
There are no plans for Chiles to give the bronze medal back as U.S. officials say they plan to appeal what the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said were “significant procedural errors” by CAS. That appeal would presumably go to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
The USOPC said in a statement Wednesday night that from August 6-9, “CAS sent crucial communications to erroneous email addresses at USOPC and USAG (USA Gymnastics), an error not corrected until August 9—three days after filing, two days past the deadline to submit objections, and less than…
