(Reuters) – USA Gymnastics said on Monday an arbitration panel will not reconsider a decision asking gymnast Jordan Chiles to return the bronze medal she was awarded in the artistic gymnastics floor exercise at the Paris Olympics.
According to the governing body, it was notified earlier on Monday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that the rules do not allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered even when conclusive new evidence is presented.
“We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement.
USA Gymnastics submitted additional evidence to CAS on Sunday after the Lausanne-based international body ruled in favour of an appeal by Romania’s Ana Barbosu, who will move up to third place in the event.
Barbosu and her team had appealed to CAS that an inquiry by Chiles’ coach filed over the results in the event was made after the one-minute deadline and that the American should not be awarded the score of 13.766 that lifted her to third place.
But USA Gymnastics then provided CAS with time-stamped video that it said shows the coach first stated a request to file an inquiry 47 seconds after the score was posted, followed by a second statement 55 seconds after the score was posted.
Chiles had initially been awarded a score of 13.666, while Barbosu scored 13.700.
The decision by CAS does not affect either winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil or silver medallist Simone Biles of the United States, who scored 14.166 and 14.133 respectively.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Michael Perry)
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