Jordan Chiles is not done fighting for her bronze medal.
In her first TV interview since the Paris Olympics, Chiles spoke about the past few months on the “Today” show, addressing the controversial technicality that led to her being stripped of her bronze individual floor medal. USA Gymnastics is fighting the result in court, filing an appeal with the Swiss Supreme Court in September.
“We didn’t do anything wrong. Everything was very right, everything was in the time that it needed to be,” Chiles told Today’s Hoda Kotb.
Chiles’ score on floor was elevated to 13.766 after a successful challenge from her coach Cecile Landi, putting her into third place and getting her the bronze. But the Court for Arbitration of Sport stripped Chiles of the medal a few days later, citing that Landi’s challenge came four seconds after the one-minute deadline.
As part of the filing in the Swiss court, USA Gymnastics provided both audio and visual evidence to prove that Landi’s appeal came in time.
In an occasionally emotional interview, Chiles said that it had been “a very difficult time” the past few months, and that she was finally comfortable talking about everything that had happened.
“I can’t control anything that’s happening on the outside, I can only control what my truth is,” Chiles said. “I know what the truth is, and I know that we were right in everything that we were doing.”
Chiles still has two Olympic medals from the team competitions as a member of Team USA — a gold from Paris and a silver from Tokyo. But she told Kotb that this medal, her only Olympic medal in an individual event, was important to her.
“It was like a cherry on top. I never expected myself to make a floor final, I never expected myself to come back with a medal,” Chiles said. “Having it in the presence of knowing that I have the capability of giving my all and giving everything that I need to do as an athlete, it was just a moment.”
Chiles added that it was special to have been part of a historic all-Black podium, sharing the podium with teammate Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
“It was an all-Black podium. That was history made; that was something I’m very proud to be a part of,” Chiles said. “It was just something I’ll always remember.”
Romanian Ana Bǎrbosu, who was in third place prior to Chiles’ challenge, received her bronze medal in a ceremony in Romania on Aug. 16, five days after Chiles was stripped of the medal.
As part of the CAS ruling, Chiles was ordered to turn over her medal. But the gymnast confirmed to Kotb that she still had the bronze medal.
Chiles told Kotb that she had not spoken to Bǎrbosu directly, but that she empathized with whatever ordeal she was going through.
“Whatever she’s going through, I’m very, very sorry. I’m going through the exact same thing,” Chiles said.
In the interview, Chiles spoke about her grandfather, who died in 2023 and who always told her that “everything happens for a reason.”
“My grandpa has been in tough situations, and he’s the toughest person I’ve ever met,” Chiles said. “He’s been able to overcome those. So how I see it, in everything, is I’ll be able to overcome this. I’ll be able to look back and say, ‘you know what, that was just a portion of my story, but it’s the truth.’
“Everything that I did was correct. That 13.766 was given to me. That bronze medal was given to me in the right way, and that’s what I just want everybody to understand,” Chiles added. “That’s why I’m here today, to say that.”