Sports

Chiles on being stripped of medal: 'This decision feels unjust'

Published

2 years ago

August 16, 2024

Chiles on being stripped of medal: 'This decision feels unjust'

It was only four seconds and one-tenth of a point, but it was enough to strip Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal. A decision that left her speechless.

“I have no words,” Chiles said on X on Thursday. “This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey.”

Chiles’ post on X is the first time the American gymnast shared her thoughts directly about the controversy surrounding her bronze medal in the women’s individual floor final at the Paris Olympics. She previously posted twice in the days following the International Olympic Committee’s decision to reallocate the bronze, once with four broken heart emojis and another that read, “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you.”

A week later, Chiles wrote she is “now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career. … I will approach this challenge as I have others — and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done.”

pic.twitter.com/MX89OPeduH
— Jordan Chiles (@ChilesJordan) August 15, 2024
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The controversy stems from the women’s gymnastics floor final inside Paris’ Bercy Arena on Aug. 5. Chiles, the last of the nine gymnasts to perform, received an initial score of 13.666, placing her fifth behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (gold medalist), America’s Simone Biles (silver medalist) and Romania’s Ana Bărbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who each scored a 13.700. (Bărbosu was ahead of Maneca-Voinea for having a higher execution score, meaning the judges thought she hit a cleaner routine.)

Following Chiles’ routine, her coach Cecile Landi submitted an inquiry, which the judges accepted and thus raised Chiles’ score to 13.766, bumping her into the bronze position. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport challenging the timeliness of Chiles’ inquiry, saying it was submitted four seconds after the allotted one-minute mark. (Gymnasts before Chiles had from the time their score appeared on the board to the start of the next gymnast’s routine — typically a few minutes — to file an inquiry. But with Chiles being the last gymnast to perform, the rule granted USA Gymnastics just one minute to submit an inquiry.)

CAS agreed that Chiles’ inquiry was raised late and that Chiles’ initial score of 13.666 should be reinstated. However, in its full report released Thursday, CAS also said it would grant Chiles, Bărbosu and Maneca-Voinea all bronze medals if it were up to the court, as it said the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) did not track the timing of the inquiry or have any guidelines in place to assure proper protocol was followed.

“If the Panel had been in a position to apply equitable principles, it would surely have attributed a bronze medal to all three gymnasts in view of their performance, good faith and the injustice and pain to which they have been subjected, in circumstances in which the FIG did not provide a mechanism or arrangement to implement the one minute rule,” the court said.

The FIG altered the results to reflect the CAS ruling and gave the IOC the final call on who would be awarded the bronze. The IOC then said it would reallocate the bronze medal to Bărbosu and that it was in contact with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee “regarding the return of (Chiles’) bronze medal.”

GO DEEPER

Gymnastics officials let down Chiles and others, but unwilling to give 3 bronzes

The details from CAS on Wednesday squarely blamed FIG for the problems that arose during one of the most dramatic moments of the Paris Games. The panel said it was limited in its review, leading to heartbreak for the athletes.

CAS denied USA Gymnastics the chance to give new evidence, which USA Gymnastics said proves the inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after Chiles’ score was shown and thus is a legal inquiry. USA Gymnastics promised yet another appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, the body that gives CAS its legitimacy for arbitrations. Successful appeals to the Swiss tribunal are uncommon.

Still, Chiles is holding out hope that her bronze stays just that. Her bronze.

“I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing,” Chiles said.

Required reading

(Photo: Naomi Baker / Getty Images)

Sports

Charles Barkley scolds sports fans for getting wrapped up in Olympic hockey frenzy

Published

5 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Charles Barkley scolds sports fans for getting wrapped up in Olympic hockey frenzy

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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley sounded off on the frenzied reactions to the U.S. men’s hockey team getting invited to the White House by President Donald Trump.

Trump talked to the Olympic gold medal-winning team immediately after they defeated Canada in overtime last weekend. He said they would be invited to his State of the Union address and added that he needed to invite the women’s team as well or he would be “impeached.”

Charles Barkley sits courtside against the Minnesota Timberwolves during an NBA Cup game at Mortgage Matchup Center on Nov. 21, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

Trump critics took the joke as a shot at the women’s team, which sparked questions from NHL and Professional Women’s Hockey League reporters as the players returned to their respective club teams.

“I’m proud of the United States men. I’m proud of the United States women. You should have invited both of them to the White House, but it shouldn’t have been disrespect, misogyny,” Barkley said on the “Steam Room” podcast. “Like, yo, man, why do y’all have to mess everything up? Everything isn’t Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal. That’s why we got this divided, screwed up country. Stop it man. Because, you know, the public, they’re idiots. They’re fools. They can’t think for themselves. I know y’all say stuff to trigger them. Y’all say stuff and y’all know they’re going to be fools.”

Barkley lamented that the average person would get riled up over the supposed controversy.

The U.S. team poses for a group photo after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

“We don’t have to fall for stupidity. But we do – that’s my point. These people out here are stupid. They need something to trigger them. Just because they want us to be stupid. We don’t have to be stupid. He should have invited both teams to the White House. Simple as that. Guys who didn’t want to go shouldn’t have to explain why they didn’t go.”

The former Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns star made clear he would go to the White House regardless of whether Trump was in office.

“I’ve said this before, I’m not a Trump guy. But if I got invited to the White House, I would go. I’m not a Trump guy – I want to make that clear. But I respect the office,” Barkley said. “He’s the president of the United States. But if guys don’t want to go, I understand that too. It doesn’t have to be a talking point. It doesn’t have to be un-American.

Megan Keller (5) celebrates with a flag alongside Cayla Barnes (3) of Team United States after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during the women’s gold medal match against Canada on Day 13 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

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“I just wish y’all would stop falling for the stupidity.”

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

Sports

Prep talk: Birmingham’s Slava Shahbazyan celebrates winning state wrestling title

Published

6 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Prep talk: Birmingham’s Slava Shahbazyan celebrates winning state wrestling title

Three years ago, as a 14-year-old freshman, Slava Shahbazyan made it to Bakersfield for the state wrestling championships.

“It was good to get experience that young,” he said.

Then came Saturday night when he had a breakthrough moment, winning the state 165-pound championship as a 17-year-old senior for Birmingham High.

“It means everything to me,” he said. “It took four years.”

Shahbazyan, who transferred from Chaminade after his sophomore year, is set to attend Stanford and still in the hunt to be valedictorian at Birmingham. Coach Jimmy Medeiros said he was close to winning last season before finishing fourth.

“He got a lot better,” Medeiros said.

Shahbazyan has been wrestling since he was 8. “My father loves wrestling,” he said.

Two St. John Bosco wrestlers, Jesse Grajeda at 144 pounds and Michael Romero at 150 pounds, also won state titles.

Here’s the link to complete results.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Sports

Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

Published

17 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.

“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”

Ponder was 23 years old.

Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)

Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.

Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.

The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.

Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)

“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”

Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.

Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)

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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.

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