Suni Lee furious over shock verdict as Jordan Chiles is stripped of bronze medal at Paris Olympics

PARIS, FRANCE: The US Olympic community has been buzzing all week about Jordan Chiles' bronze medal win in the women's floor gymnastics final at the Paris Olympics.

Gymnastics star Suni Lee of Team USA has spoken out against the decision to strip her teammate Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal, criticizing the judges for allowing an "unacceptable" situation to occur.

Teammate Suni Lee finds Jordan Chiles' bronze medal stripping 'completely unacceptable'

Gymnastic teammate Suni Lee offered her opinion as fans and experts debated Jordan Chiles' spot on the Olympic podium. Although many fans were quick to criticize the bronze medalist, the United States Olympic Gymnastics Committee (USOPC) affirmed Chiles' victory.

Lee—who won gold with Chiles in the team final and solo bronzes in the uneven bars and all-around competitions—turned to Instagram to voice her frustration over the request to return Chiles' bronze medal.

Sharing a statement from the USA condemning the CAS decision, Lee remarked on her Instagram Stories, "All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges??"

"Completely unacceptable, this is awful and i'm gutted for jordan. I got your back forever jo - u have all my flowers and you will ALWAYS be an olympic champion," Lee added, per Daily Mail. [sic]

After making a big splash on the podium during the late controversy in the women's floor final, Chiles has been asked to surrender her bronze medal in less than a week.

After initially placing fifth with a score of 13.666, the 23-year-old athlete was the last to compete. However, an appeal from the USA raised her score by 0.1, moving her into the medal position at the cost of Ana Barbosu of Romania.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the scoring appeal that had pushed Chiles up to third place. The International Olympic Committee stated early on Sunday, August 11, that it was redirecting the bronze to Barbosu after an outcry over the decision in Romania.

The American teenager, who appeared to have won her first individual Olympic medal, was devastated by the news and broke down in tears.

Even if Chiles' bronze medal is taken away, it seems like the US Gymnastics Committee and her peers—most notably Simone Biles and Lee—will be there for her every step of the way.

Chiles has refrained from directly addressing the ruling. However, she posted crushed heart emojis on her Instagram Story and announced that she would be taking a break from social media a few hours before the message was made public.

"I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health. Thank you," Chiles wrote.

Prominent athletes stand up for Jordan Chiles as she loses bronze medal

Prominent gymnasts like Aly Raisman and Simone Biles united in support of Jordan Chiles following the bronze-medal controversy at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Using her Instagram Story on Saturday, August 10, Biles, 27, posted a picture of herself giving Chiles a hug along with the caption, "sending you so much love Jordan 🤍 keep your chin up olympic champ! we love you!" [sic]

LeBron James, who won his third gold medal in men's basketball, also supported Chiles on X (formerly Twitter). The 39-year-old Los Angeles Laker star tweeted, "♾️!!!!!! ❤️🇺🇸," in response to Team USA's statement that Chiles was "forever that girl."

Gymnast Jade Carey stated that Chiles was "forever an Olympic champion" and had "so much to be proud of," adding that her teammate shouldn't be penalized "for someone else's mistake," per Page Six.

The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee declared on Sunday, August 11, that it would file an appeal of the ruling.

The statement said, "We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed."

"Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves. We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly," the statement added.