Jordan Chiles Tears Up While Talking About Medal Drama

Gymnast gives first interview since she was stripped of Olympic bronze
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 12, 2024 1:00 AM CDT
Jordan Chiles Gives First Interview Since Medal Drama
Jordan Chiles arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Gymnast Jordan Chiles on Wednesday opened up about what it was like to be stripped of the bronze medal in the women's floor exercise event at the Paris Olympics. "I followed the rules. My coach followed the rules. We did everything that was totally, completely right," she said during an appearance at the Forbes Power Women's Summit. It was her first interview since the Olympics incident, Fox News reports. "The biggest thing that was taken from me was, it was the recognition of who I was. Not just my sport, but the person I am," added Chiles, who teared up at times while talking about the incident. After the extensive back-and-forth related to the scoring of the event ended with Chiles having to surrender the medal she'd been awarded, she suffered abuse online, including racist remarks, the Guardian reports.

"It's not about the medal," Chiles said on Wednesday. "It's about my skin color. It's about the fact there were things that have led up to this position of being an athlete. And I felt like everything has been stripped. I felt like when I was back in 2018 where I did lose the love of the sport, I lost it again." (Chiles has previously talked about an abusive coach she had in 2018.) She said that it was initially hard to register all the "love and support" directed at her after the medal incident, but now she can feel and see it. "I do appreciate every single person that has been able to come out and say what they needed to say," she said. (Later Wednesday, Chiles attended the VMAs.)

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