Jordan Chiles Talks Getting Stripped of Her Bronze Medal: 'You Need to Fight for What You're Fighting for'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jordan Chiles.Photo:Naomi Baker/Getty

Naomi Baker/Getty

Olympic gold medalistJordan Chileshad a whirlwind summer in Paris with Team USA – but things took an unfortunate turn when she was stripped of her individual bronze medal, and she’s again opening up about the situation.

In a recent interview withCNN, alongside teammate and close friendSimone Biles, Chiles spoke about the heartbreaking turn of events and how she’s moving forward. “Things can be really, really hard in your life and things may be stripped from you and you’re going to have to deal with that, and understand that you need to fight for what you’re fighting for,” Chiles said.

“And that’s something that I’ve learned as well in the past three or four months just coming off of Paris,” she added.

Jordan Chiles.Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty

Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty

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In her first interview following losing her bronze medal at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit on Sept. 11, Chiles said, “The biggest thing that was taken from me was that it was the recognition of who I was. Not just my sport, but the person I am. To me, everything that has gone on is not about the medal, it’s about my skin color.”

Jordan Chiles.Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty

Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty

“I felt like when I was back in 2018 where I did lose the love of the sport, I lost it again,” Chiles revealed, adding, “I felt like I was really left in the dark.”

“I made history and I’ll always continue to make history and something that I rightfully did. I followed the rules, my coach followed the rules,” Chiles said, referring to the claim that her coach Cecile Landi was four seconds late submitting the appeal that resulted in Chiles' score change to come in third place, whichUSA Gymnastics has deniedandhave submitted what they say is proofit was in time.

“So having being left in the dark is something that I feel like they just took that all away and was trying to just put the name gymnastics in front of it,” Chiles added.

In the interview with CNN, Chiles also credited Biles for teaching her the importance of “standing your ground.”

Chiles said she’s worked on “understanding that my story is my story,” and that “I’m the one who’s writing it and I didn’t learn to stand my ground until I met [Biles].”

source: people.com