PARIS– The International Gymnastics Federation on Saturday reinstated Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu to third place in the women’s floor exercise final at the Paris Olympic Games, potentially forcing American gymnast Jordan Chiles to return the bronze medal she won in the event.

It is unclear whether Chiles will be forced to return the medal. The federation, known as FIG, said that while it had restored the original order of placing – with Barbosu third, Romanian teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth – the awarding of medals would be left to the International Olympic Committee.

The FIG made the decision shortly after the Court of Arbitration for Sport invalidated an appeal by Cecile Landi, the coach of the US team, during the competition that had catapulted Chiles to the podium.

CAS ruled on Saturday that Cecile Landi’s appeal on Monday to increase Chiles’ score by 0.1 point was made outside the 1-minute window allowed by the FIG. The ad hoc committee wrote that Landi’s appeal was made 1 minute and 4 seconds after the score was announced.

CAS wrote that the original order should be restored, with Barbosu third, Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added that the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision,” but left it to the FIG to decide who would receive the medal behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the United States.

FIG spokeswoman Meike Behrensen said in an email to Associated Press: “The reassignment of medals is the responsibility of the IOC.”

At the Olympic Games, the governing body of each sport runs the competition and decides the results. The IOC usually accepts this result – once the appeals to CAS are completed – and officially awards the medals. It is unclear whether the IOC or the FIG would ask Chile to return its medal. The gymnast is already back in the United States.

The IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation had demanded the awarding of three bronze medals. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu reacted to the verdict with the words: “Justice has been done” and “in the end, the truth has prevailed.”

The verdict is another facet of difficult days for all three athletes. Romanian gymnastics legend and 1976 Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci feared for Barbosu’s mental health due to the heartbreaking scene that saw her slip from bronze medalist to fourth place.

“I can’t believe we are playing with athletes’ mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them,” Comaneci posted on X earlier this week.

Comaneci simultaneously criticized the judges for their assessment of Maneca-Voinea’s routine – the gymnast was deducted 0.1 points for stepping outside the limits, but viral replays showed that she stayed just within the limits. Comaneci asked the Romanian Olympic Committee to protest, which it did, but the CAS rejected the appeal.

Chiles hinted at the decision in an Instagram story on Saturday, saying she was heartbroken and would “take this time and step away from social media for mental health reasons, thank you.”

Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea failed to win medals in the floor exercise final after being tied on a score of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze by a tiebreaker – a higher execution score – over Maneca-Voinea and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.

Chiles was the last athlete to compete. She initially received a score of 13.666, which put her in fifth place just behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an investigation into Chiles’ score.

“At that point, we had nothing left to lose, so I thought, ‘Let’s just try it,'” Landi said after the awards ceremony. “I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen, but when I heard her scream, I turned around and thought, ‘What?'”

The jury accepted the appeal and relegated Chiles past Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea to the last place on the podium.

USA Gymnastics said in a statement that it was “devastated” by the verdict.

“The request regarding the difficulty level of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was submitted in good faith and, in our opinion, complies with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the organization wrote.

Chiles, 23, became a target on social media after the late move, with critics urging her to return the medal or making racist remarks. Chiles posted on X earlier this week: “It’s funny how people can never be happy for someone anyway.”

“Sending you so much love Jordan,” Biles posted on Instagram. “Cheer up, ‘Olympic Champion,’ we love you.”

“All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?” teammate Sunisa Lee added on Instagram. “Totally unacceptable, this is horrible and I am devastated for Jordan.”

After returning to Romania, Barbosu stressed that she had no problem with Chiles.

“I just want everyone to be fair. We don’t want to start bullying other athletes of any nationality,” Barbosu told reporters. “We as athletes don’t deserve this. We just want to perform to the best of our ability and be rewarded according to our performance. The problem lies with the judges, with their calculations and decisions.”

Chiles’ mother, Gina Chiles, challenged the critics in a post, writing that she was “fed up” with the derogatory comments being made about Jordan.

“My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and an unmatched level of sportsmanship,” posted Gina Chiles. “And she is being called disgusting names.”

The uncertainty also overshadowed the beautiful moment on the podium when Chiles and Biles knelt to honor Andrade after the Brazilian star won her fourth medal in Paris.

“It was just the right thing to do,” Biles said of a moment that quickly went viral and even had the Louvre itself suggesting it deserved a place somewhere near the Mona Lisa.

This memory now carries a complicated and emotional postscript.

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Associated Press writer Stephen McGrath and AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this report.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games