Jordan Chiles struggled to contain her emotions as she opened up on controversially losing her bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
The gymnast claimed she has ‘proof’ that Team USA were ‘right in everything that we were doing’ in the fight with Romania’s Ana Barbosu.
But Chiles insisted she has no animosity towards her rival over the furor which dragged on beyond the end of the Games.
The American initially finished fifth in the floor exercise, before her score was increased – on appeal – and she moved above Barbosu into third place.
But then, in a stunning ruling, the Court of Arbitration for Sport declared that the judges were wrong to allow the change because the US appeal came outside the permitted one-minute window.
Jordan Chiles struggled to contain her emotions as she opened up on losing her bronze medal
Chiles was awarded a bronze in Paris before the Court of Arbitration for Sport intervened
The 23-year-old fought back tears as she discussed the ordeal with TODAY’s Hoda Kotb: ‘I can only control what my truth is, and I know what the truth is, and I know that we were right in everything that we were doing.’
She insisted ‘everything was in the time that it needed to be’, adding that her team has ‘proof’.
Chiles revealed she has not spoken to Barbosu following the affair but the Team USA star said: ‘Whatever she’s going through, I’m very, very sorry… I’ve been going through the exact same thing.’
Following the scoring scandal, Chiles slammed the ‘unjust’ decision and the ‘racially-driven attacks’ she was subjected to.
The 23-year-old briefly left social media ‘for her mental health’ and now, in her first TV interview since, she opened up on the turmoil of the past few months.
‘Honestly, it’s been really, really hard just to comprehend everything that’s been happening,’ Chiles said. ‘It’s just been a difficult time for myself.’
The 23-year-old was overcome with emotion as she revealed how the memory of her late grandfather has helped ease the pain.
‘As my grandpa would always say: “Everything happens for a reason.” There’s reasons on why you’re the person you are. There’s reasons on why people look up to you’ Chiles said.
Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu was awarded her Olympic bronze medal after the Games
‘I’ll be able to overcome this, and I’ll be able to look back and say that was just a portion of my story, but it’s the truth. And that’s why I’m here today, is to tell my truth,’ she said.
USA Gymnastics previously vowed to pursue ‘every possible avenue’ of appeal.
Chiles, meanwhile, has yet to decide whether she will be back on the mat at Los Angeles 2028.
‘LA is in and out of my mind,’ she said.
‘I think right now, I’m just trying to take in what’s happened from Paris and take (it) day by day.’
