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There are many unexpected twists and turns in gymnastics, but the unfolding saga of which gymnast will officially take home the bronze medal in the women’s artistic gymnastics final of the 2024 Olympic Games is more complicated than anyone could have expected.

US gymnast Jordan Chiles was stripped of her first individual medal of the Olympics after the Romanian gymnastics team disputed her final score. The US team has appealed the judges’ decision and the battle for bronze is far from over.

Here’s what you need to know.

The competition was tough – and it was always close

The women’s floor exercise final promised to be an exciting experience before Chiles stepped onto the mat for the final performance on August 5. Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu and her teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea were tied with a score of 13.700.

Chile’s chance of winning their first individual medal and standing on the Olympic podium would come down to a mere tenth of a point.

The 23-year-old gymnast performed her floor exercise to a medley by Beyoncé with confidence and all three athletes waited anxiously for the judges to announce their scores.

Chiles initially received a score of 13.666, which put her in fifth place, but as the stadium erupted in cheers for Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade’s gold medal, U.S. gymnastics coach Cecile Landi raised an inquiry about Chiles’ difficulty rating.

Minutes later, Chiles was the first to notice the judges’ decision – she jumped up and down while Landi stared at the leaderboard in disbelief. The judges adjusted her score by 0.1 point and gave her 13.766 points, securing her the bronze medal.

The victory was historic—it was the first time that all three spots on the Olympic podium were occupied by black women. In a remarkable display of sportsmanship, Chiles suggested that she and Biles playfully bow to Andrade. The move was captured in an iconic photo that instantly made sports history.

But the celebrations were to be short-lived.

The International Gymnastics Federation’s rules allow a coach to contest a difficulty rating, “provided this is done verbally immediately after the rating is published.”

According to the guidelines, a coach has one minute after the score is displayed to make a verbal request to the last gymnast in a rotation.

Since Chiles was the last gymnast to compete, her coaches were fighting against time.

“The person responsible for receiving the oral request must document the time of receipt in writing or electronically, which initiates the procedure,” the regulation states.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation and gymnasts Bǎrbosu and Maneca-Voinea have filed an official complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CIS) to review the circumstances that led to the decision to correct Chiles’ score.

They argued that USA Gymnastics’ investigation was initiated 4 seconds after the one-minute time limit expired and Chiles’ original score of 13.666 points should be upheld. All three athletes, the gymnasts argued, should be ranked third and each awarded a medal.

The appeal process continued behind the scenes over the following week. On Saturday, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted the Romanian national team’s appeal.

The sport’s governing body said it had concluded that the request, submitted on behalf of Chile, “was made after the one-minute deadline had expired… and was ineffective.”

“The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique will determine the ranking of the women’s floor exercise final and award the medal(s) in accordance with the above decision,” the International Court of Arbitration for Sport said in a statement.

It was later announced that the bronze medal would go to Bǎrbosu from Romania.

“We are devastated,” USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a joint statement following the ruling. “The inquiry regarding the difficulty score of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise was submitted in good faith and, in our opinion, was consistent with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring.”

It was also noted that Chiles had been subjected to “completely baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media”.

Chiles posted four broken heart emojis on her Instagram story following the CAS decision and announced that she would be taking a break from social media. “I am taking this time and withdrawing from social media for the sake of my mental health, thank you,” she wrote.

A few hours later, USA Gymnastics announced that it had submitted an official letter and additional evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to appeal the ruling.

The team said in a statement that it had provided time-stamped video evidence showing that U.S. gymnastics coach Landi made her request “47 seconds after the result was announced and then a second statement 55 seconds after the original result was announced.”

The team said it had not had access to the footage before the tribunal’s decision and later argued that there were “critical errors” in the original CAS assessment and appeal process that needed to be corrected.

“Under these circumstances, we are determined to appeal so that Jordan Chiles receives the recognition she deserves. We will continue to support her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work hard to resolve this matter quickly and fairly,” the team said in a statement.

It is unclear how long it might take for this appeal to be processed by the arbitration panel – and it is unclear whether Chiles has already returned the medal.

And while score adjustments are not uncommon, Chile’s case is unusual. In the past, athletes have been stripped of their medals when the International Olympic Committee found evidence of illegal drug use.

Superstar Usain Bolt had to return an Olympic gold medal he won in the 4×100 meter relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after it was revealed that his teammate Nesta Carter had tested positive for a banned substance.

Jacob Lev of CNN, Issy Ronald, Ben Morse, Dan Moriarty and David Close contributed to this report.