Culture
Gymnastics officials let down Chiles and others, but unwilling to give 3 bronzes
If it was up to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Jordan Chiles would keep her bronze medal for her routine in the women’s gymnastics floor exercise at the Paris Olympics, and Romanian gymnasts Ana Bărbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea would each get one, too.
But in a 29-page detailing of its ruling that led Olympic officials to strip Chiles of her first individual medal, CAS said the global governing body for gymnastics botched its officiating of the event and was unwilling to make up for it by awarding all three gymnasts medals, even though each of the athletes had arguments for the bronze.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) also did not keep track of the timing of an inquiry from Chiles’ coach about her score during the Aug. 5 competition, a lapse CAS called a “failure.” Ultimately, the court ruled the inquiry came four seconds after the allowed one-minute window for Chiles’ score to be checked.
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. After the competition, Romanian officials appealed to the court, which had set up a three-person panel at the Olympics specifically to arbitrate disputes.
The panel said it was limited in its review, leading to heartbreak for the athletes.
“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 explanation of the ruling also detailed other serious issues with the administration of the floor exercise, which ended with Rebeca Andrade of Brazil winning gold and Simone Biles of the United States winning silver.
Since then, the scoring for Chiles, Bărbosu and Maneca-Voinea has become one of the most disputed and closely followed sagas of the Paris Games.
“The Panel expresses the hope that the FIG will draw the consequences of this case, in relation to these three extraordinary Athletes and also for other Athletes and their supporting personnel, in the future, so that this never happens again,” CAS wrote in its ruling.
The gymnastics federation did not return requests seeking comment.
USA Gymnastics, which was denied a chance to give new evidence to CAS, 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.
USA Gymnastics said Wednesday the CAS details released earlier in the day showed USA Gymnastics did not have enough time to properly make its case for Chiles, and that it believes Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, submitted her review 47 seconds after the score was published.
“We will pursue these and other matters upon appeal as we continue to seek justice for Jordan Chiles,” USA Gymnastics said.
In her first time speaking directly about the controversy, Chiles posted on X on Thursday saying, “I will approach this challenge as I have others — and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done.”
She 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.
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In a separate statement Wednesday, CAS pushed back on a New York Times report that the panel itself had a question of conflict because its head, Hamid G. Gharavi, had represented Romania for nearly 10 years in separate arbitration cases.
Gharavi serves as legal counsel to Romania for disputes handled by the World Bank’s International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, The Times reported.
CAS said it “condemns the outrageous statements published in certain US media alleging, without knowledge of the above and before review of the reasoned award, that the Panel, and more particularly its chairman, was biased due to other professional engagements or for reasons of nationality.”
The court said that Gharavi’s participation was not challenged during the gymnastics arbitration, so “it can reasonably be assumed that all parties were satisfied to have their case heard by this Panel.”
USA Gymnastics said it had not seen disclosures about Gharavi or any other panelist, “nor have we seen the disclosures to date.”
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At the heart of the competitive dispute is the inquiry placed by Landi, Chiles’ coach, about how Chiles’ floor routine was scored. Chiles initially scored a 13.666 to place fifth. She was the last of nine gymnasts to compete, which gave her just one minute to place an inquiry under FIG regulations.
The judges allowed the inquiry in the moment, and raised Chiles’ score by 0.1 to 13.766. That moved her ahead of Bărbosu and Maneca-Voinea, who each scored a 13.700. (Bărbosu had an advantage over Maneca-Voinea due to a better execution score, meaning the judges believed she had a cleaner routine.)
In one of the more emotional scenes of the Games, Chiles screamed in celebration, while Bărbosu, who thought she had won bronze, dropped her Romanian flag out of shock and left the floor in tears.
But the appeal to CAS by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation found the timing of the inquiry was late.
After CAS released its initial ruling Saturday, FIG changed the final standings and the International Olympic Committee said it would reallocate Chiles’ medal to Bărbosu.
Bărbosu is set to receive her medal in a ceremony Friday, according to the Romanian federation.
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In the ruling shared Wednesday, CAS said FIG did not have a mechanism for figuring out immediately whether an inquiry was late, even though the inquiry was submitted electronically.
Donatella Sacchi, president of FIG’s Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee, said when the inquiry arrived, “the information offered no indication that it had been received late.”
CAS said it made sense for Sacchi to proceed under the assumption that the inquiry was on time, because there was no setup to immediately show it was late.
“If the FIG had put such a mechanism or arrangement in place, a great deal of heartache would have been avoided,” CAS said.
FIG could also not identify the name of the person who took the inquiry, because the person was appointed by local organizers, Sacchi said.
Landi appeared as a witness at the hearing and said she knew the one-minute rule and “believed she had made the inquiry as fast as she could.”
CAS continued: “She was not able to state with certainty whether she made the inquiry within or beyond the one-minute time limit, as everything had happened in a great rush.”
(Photo: Naomi Baker / Getty Images)
Kevin Durant has become the latest American sports star to invest in European soccer.
On Monday, The Athletic reported that the two-time NBA champion and Phoenix Suns forward had bought a minority share of French soccer giants Paris Saint-Germain. According to sources with knowledge of the agreement — who, like all spoken to for this piece, were granted anonymity to protect relationships — Durant’s investment firm Boardroom has bought a shareholding through a separate financial vehicle created by Arctos Sports Partners, which has invested in PSG.
Durant was in Paris for the Olympic Games, where he secured his fourth gold medal. Last week, while competing at the competition, Durant and Rich Kleiman, who is the co-founder of Boardroom and Durant’s manager, visited PSG’s new training centre at Poissy, west of Paris. They met with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. According to sources with knowledge of his visit, the two sides “presented” to each other regarding the agreement.
So what does this agreement mean and how did it come about? The Athletic has the rundown.
First, who are PSG and what is Boardroom?
Paris Saint-Germain are one of the leading football clubs in both the men’s and women’s game in Europe. Their men’s team are the most successful football club in France. They have won 12 domestic league titles, more than any other team, and they are the reigning champions.
PSG became a dominant force after Qatar Sports Investments, a Qatari state-funded investment vehicle, bought the club for €70million in 2011. Since then, they have won 32 trophies and signed international star players including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They have also developed an increasingly prominent global brand, with more than 200 million followers on social media. According to Deloitte’s Football Money League, they received the third-most commercial revenue of any football club in Europe in the 2022-23 season. PSG also have multiple sports teams beyond men’s and women’s soccer, including handball, judo and esports.
PSG previously had Messi, Neymar and Mbappe on the books (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)
Boardroom, meanwhile, is a sports, media and entertainment brand co-founded by Durant and Kleiman. It is the sister company to Boardroom Sports Holding LLC, which features investments in multiple emerging sports teams and leagues, including PSG.
Durant needs little introduction. The 35-year-old is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is a 14-time All-Star and his gold medal collection is now a record for men’s basketball. He is also the leading U.S. scorer in Olympic competition for either men or women. He will enter his 17th NBA season this year with the Phoenix Suns.
So does Durant have a say at PSG?
Durant has become a minority shareholder through Boardroom Sports Holdings LLC, but he has not invested directly. He has bought a stake in the Arctos Sports Partners fund that has invested in PSG. Arctos, a U.S.-based private investment firm, bought 12.5 per cent of Paris Saint-Germain last year, which at the time was valued at €4.25billion (£3.64bn, $4.58bn).
The amount of Durant’s stake is undisclosed, but sources close to the deal have told The Athletic that, in U.S. dollars, it is in “single-digit millions”.
This is not the first time Durant has invested in sports. He bought a five per cent ownership stake in MLS side Philadelphia Union in 2020, with an option to purchase an additional five per cent, while in 2022 he became a minority owner of NY/NJ Gotham National Women’s Soccer League franchise. He is also a co-owner of the Brooklyn Aces in Major League Pickleball, among multiple other investments with his manager Kleiman, who is a co-founder of Boardroom, sister company to Durant’s investment arm Thirty Five Ventures.
Why has he invested in PSG?
This is the start of what is expected to be a broader collaboration between Boardroom and PSG, covering areas including “content and strategy”. PSG are known to be exploring a variety of collaborations to enhance and develop their brand. They want to enhance their status and footprint in the United States, with the Club World Cup in 2025 and the World Cup in 2026 both on the horizon.
PSG sources say they hope Durant will bring a multi-sport and U.S. market perspective to the club and its brand. The club see this as the start of a relationship that has now been formalised financially. They expect, through Arctos, that Durant will have a voice in the business’s development and the club want to broaden those influences beyond just majority shareholder QSI.
Durant won Olympic Gold in Paris (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
One source with knowledge of Durant’s visit to PSG said the NBA star underlined the attractiveness of the club and brand, noting the club’s unique positioning on culture and community, while also expressing a commitment to the future of women’s sports.
What have both sides said?
PSG have not said anything formally on the matter since news broke of Durant’s investment, but speaking after Durant visited the club’s €300million training centre last week, where the NBA star met the men’s first team head coach Luis Enrique and consultant sporting advisor Luis Campos among others, club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: “It was an honour to welcome Kevin Durant to the campus today and to witness his passion for Paris Saint-Germain and his recognition of the excellent sports facilities at our new PSG Campus training centre.
“Kevin is an inspirational athlete, investor and all-round role model, both on and off the pitch. We are extremely proud of his connection to the Paris Saint-Germain family as we share the same values and vision. We look forward to strengthening our ties and working together with Kevin and Boardroom to bring the best in sport and entertainment to fans around the world.”
On Monday, Boardroom said in a post shared on social media: “Earlier this month, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi welcomed Durant and his long-time business partner, entrepreneur Rich Kleiman, to the Paris Saint-Germain Campus to kick off the partnership with a visit to the club’s state-of-the-art training facility and education centre. They witnessed first-hand how the club’s values of innovation and excellence are embodied in this new environment, where Paris Saint-Germain is nurturing the stars of tomorrow.
“They also spent time with Paris Saint-Germain’s professional football teams, with a particular focus on the women’s and youth academy teams — areas of strong interest for him both in terms of sport and investment. Durant and Kleiman’s sports and entertainment media network Boardroom will work with Paris Saint-Germain to develop a multi-faceted collaboration that spans content and strategy.”
Arctos has been approached for comment.
Is he the first U.S. star to invest in soccer?
Durant follows a well-trodden path of American sports stars and other famous faces investing in soccer clubs in Europe. LeBron James became a minority shareholder at Liverpool in 2011, but since then, more have followed. Last year, in England, former NFL star JJ Watt and his wife Kealia, an ex-USWNT player, bought a stake in Burnley, Tom Brady did similar at Birmingham City, while Leeds United can count on Atlanta Hawks forward/centre Larry Nance Jr — as well as Russell Crowe, Dustin Hoffman, Will Ferrell, Jordan Spieth and Russell Westbrook — as co-owners.
“Many are attracted by the passion fans have for football here — I don’t think they see the same passion for teams in the U.S.,” Andrew Umbers, a partner at Oakwell Sports Advisory, a London-based strategic and financial advisor in the sports sector, told The Athletic last month.
JJ Watt owns a stake in Burnley (James Gill/Getty Images)
“It is also an opportunity to grow their personal brands outside the U.S. and the same thing works in reverse.
“If you can bring in an American superstar like LeBron James or Tom Brady, who can give you massive reach in the U.S. for a small amount of equity, why wouldn’t you?”
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Is this PSG’s first link-up with basketball?
PSG are currently partnered with Michael Jordan’s brand, Jordan, an agreement that is now in its sixth year. That collaboration has proven to be transformative for the club and its brand, enabling it to expand globally. “It’s the one thing that gets talked about the most, everywhere we go in the world,” said Marc Armstrong, PSG’s chief revenue officer, told The Athletic in December.
Basketball is one of the most commonly played sports in France. While PSG do not have a basketball team, sources have not ruled out the possibility of establishing a PSG basketball side in the future.
A major focus for the club in the short term will be on the construction of their new stadium, which is anticipated to be a multi-sport and multi-purpose venue. PSG’s revenues are constrained by low television rights deals in France and the limited capacity of their ground, the Parc des Princes. The stadium is seen as a way to further grow the club, which is a key focus of new investors Arctos.
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(Top photos: Getty Images)
French prosecutors opened an investigation into a complaint made by Algerian boxer and Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif about online harassment over her gender and presence at the Paris Games.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office confirmed in an email that it received a complaint from Khelif on Monday and referred the matter to the OCLCH, the Central Office for Combating Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes. The OCLCH is investigating charges of cyberbullying based on gender, public insult based on gender, public provocation to discrimination and public insult based on origin, the prosecutor’s office said.
The Associated Press reported that under French law, it would be up to prosecutors to decide who might be at fault.
The OCLCH confirmed it is responsible for the investigation but said it could not provide a copy of the complaint “in view of the confidentiality of the investigation.”
On Sunday, Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, said in a statement on Instagram that his firm had filed the complaint with the online hate unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office.
“This unfair harassment suffered by the boxing champion will remain the biggest stain of these Olympic Games,” he said.
Khelif, who won a gold medal Friday, faced a torrent of negative attention on social media throughout the Games. Her first bout in the 66-kilogram (145-pound) division ended abruptly when her opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, quit within 46 seconds after squarely taking some hard punches from Khelif, including one to the nose that left Carini complaining that she couldn’t properly breathe.
Khelif was assigned female at birth, has always been identified on her legal documents as a woman and the International Olympic Committee has repeatedly affirmed her qualifications to compete in a women’s division. But Carini’s quick concession drew attention to a decision by the International Boxing Association last year to disqualify Khelif and another boxer, Lin Yu-ting, from its world championships. (Lin won a gold medal Saturday night in the women’s 126-pound featherweight division.)
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The IBA said Khelif and Lin had advantages over other women, based on tests it administered during its tournament. But it did not release details of the tests and its officials publicly and messily retreated from a plan to share more specific results during the Games. The IOC, in rejecting the IBA’s assertions, said they reflected more on the IBA’s disorganization than its authority in women’s sports.
The flap stoked discord among sports fans and advocates surrounding extremely touchy topics of inclusion, fairness and the complex biology of sex. Numerous people online criticized Khelif with incorrect assertions.
Boudi called the chatter a “misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign.”
Required reading
(Photo: Ulrik Pedersen / DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
The Polish anti-doping agency (POLADA) said on Wednesday that it was the victim of a cyber attack that led to false details of positive tests from a number of athletes being leaked.
Many of Poland’s most high-profile athletes were listed in the supposed leaks, including tennis world No 1 Iga Swiatek and Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, who has been one of Europe’s leading footballers for more than a decade.
The supposed leaks were then shared on social media before being described as “fake” by POLADA.
A statement from the agency on X, formerly Twitter, in response to a since deleted tweet outlining the allegations read: “Info presented in this post about Polish athletes is a fake.
“All of these posts are aimed to discredit Polish athletes, who don’t deserve that cause (sic) they compete clean. Non (sic) of this (sic) athletes was positive and non (sic) of presented dates is matching doping controls which were conducted.”
Info presented in this post about Polish athletes is a fake. All of this posts are aimed to discredit Polish athletes, who don’t deserve that cause they compete clean. Non of this athletes was positive and non of presented dates is matching doping controls which were conducted.
— Polska Agencja Antydopingowa (@POLADA_official) August 14, 2024
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the authority that deals with doping in tennis, has told The Athletic that their records have no evidence of any adverse findings for Swiatek.
The agency’s records includes the period Swiatek was alleged to have tested positive, even though at that time anti-doping fell under the remit of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
In a subsequent tweet, POLADA wrote: “In connection with the hacking attack we inform you, that data is used by cyber criminals for various purposes, including widely understood disinformation.
“In the public domain fake news discrediting Polish athletes has appeared. Please do not duplicate them.
“None of the listed athletes will have a positive result and none of the terms presented correspond to conducted anti-doping controls.”
— Polska Agencja Antydopingowa (@POLADA_official) August 14, 2024
The Swiatek camp referred to POLADA’s statements when contacted for comment.
POLADA is the national anti-doping organisation (NADO) recognised by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for Poland.
WADA is responsible for coordinating anti-doping rules and policies across all sports, including tennis and football.
Lewandowski’s representatives have also been contacted for comment.
(Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)
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