New audio disputes ruling that stripped Jordan Chiles of Olympic medal

A Post analysis of audio and visual evidence shows the U.S. gymnast’s coach initiated the inquiry into her score within the required one-minute timeframe. Nearly a week later, Chiles was stripped of her medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled her coach, Cecile Landi, did not initiate the decisive inquiry before the one-minute deadline. On Monday in Switzerland’s Supreme Court, Chiles filed an appeal that raised procedural issues in the CAS hearing in hopes of overturning the decision and reclaiming the medal. The Washington Post analyzed dozens of videos to examine the disputed inquiry, including footage from fans in the arena, television broadcasts and new video evidence in Chiles’s latest appeal. The new video evidence, filmed by Religion of Sports, the documentary crew that followed Chiles’s teammate Simone Biles in Paris, captured audio of Landi asking for the inquiry within that minute. As the last competitor in the floor final, Chiles finished her routine at 3:29 p.m. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil had the best score (14.166) with Biles just behind (14.133). Omega, the official timekeeper at the Olympics, recorded the timestamp of 3:32:17 p.m. as the “Official Score Time.” That time reflects when the head judge released Chiles’s final score, said Alain Zobrist, CEO of Swiss Timing for Omega, in a statement to The Post. The Post synchronized different footage of Chiles’s score being revealed in the arena, using metadata as well as visual and audio cues, to calculate the timestamps below. They are based on the sport’s rule: For the final athlete in a rotation, the time limit for a coach’s verbal notification of an inquiry is one minute “after the score is shown on the scoreboard.” Advertisement 0:00 | Video board reveals Chiles’s score (Video: Marco Albuquerque) Chiles’s initial score appears on the video board at 3:32:20, three seconds after the “Official Score Time,” according to The Post’s analysis of video from the competition. 0:43 | Chiles’s coaches decide to submit an inquiry (Video: Jordan Chiles Appeal Before the Swiss Supreme Court) Chiles’s difficulty score (5.8) was one-tenth shy of her maximum mark because she did not receive credit for a leaping element she had performed. Coaches can challenge a gymnast’s difficulty score, as well as time-related and out-of-bounds deductions. Cecile says, “They didn’t send it,” presumably a reference to a potential inquiry into Biles’s score. [It’s] 5.8.” At 3:33:03 p.m., 43 seconds after Chiles’s score appears on the screen, Laurent replies in French, “Go ahead; do it.” Advertisement 00:46 | Chiles’s coach requests an inquiry (Video: Jordan Chiles Appeal Before the Swiss Supreme Court) Three seconds after the conversation with Laurent and 46 seconds after the score is posted in the arena, Cecile says in English, “Inquiry for Jordan.” The video submitted with Chiles’s filing includes audio of Cecile’s request but not video footage that shows Cecile at this moment. She had just left the broadcast frame that showed Chiles, and it’s unclear how close she was to the official recording the inquiry. 00:54 | Chiles’s coach repeats inquiry request Eight seconds after her first request and 54 seconds after the score posted in the arena, Cecile repeats the request for inquiry. Cecile says, “Inquiry for Jordan.” Three seconds later, at 3:33:17 p.m., she adds: “For Jordan.” 01:01 | Official presses button to register inquiry An official logs Cecile’s inquiry in Omega’s system at 3:33:21 — 1 minute 4 seconds after Omega recorded Chiles’s original score and 1 minute 1 second after the score appeared on the video board. According to The Post’s visual analysis, this happened 15 seconds after Cecile’s first statement requesting the inquiry and seven seconds after her second. Cecile returns to the official and responds to a question by saying in French, “5.9,” a reference to the score she believed Chiles should have been awarded. The Post’s analysis shows CAS relied on timestamps that measured the time between when Chiles’s score was officially logged and when the inquiry was officially recorded. Advertisement 01:59 | Chiles celebrates 1 minute 59 seconds after her initial score appeared in the arena, Chiles celebrated with Cecile after seeing her score was adjusted, moving her into third place. Aftermath The next day, the Romanians appealed the change to Chiles’s score, and CAS convened a hearing on the matter Aug. 10. Cecile Landi testified that the official recorded her request “immediately.” However, Chiles’s attorneys said “Chiles directly and repeatedly disputed that issue at the arbitration hearing.” The CAS report does not mention Chiles objecting at the hearing. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/09/19/jordan-chiles-olympics-medal-appeal/