Romanian gymnast Ana Maria Bărbosu risks losing the bronze medal she was awarded in the women's floor exercise at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after the Swiss Federal Supreme Court sent the case back for re-examination by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 

In the decision published on January 29, the Swiss court ruled that the dispute over the bronze medal is not closed. While it dismissed appeals filed by Jordan Chiles and Romania's Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, it partially admitted requests for revision submitted by Jordan Chiles and USA Gymnastics, citing the emergence of new audio-visual evidence.

"On the basis of a audio-visual recording discovered after the CAS award, the Federal Supreme Court acknowledged that this new evidence may justify a modification of the contested award. It referred the case back to the CAS for it to re-examine the situation, taking this new evidence into account," reads the court's statement, as quoted by Biziday.ro.

The women's floor final took place on August 5, 2024. Romania's Ana Bărbosu initially scored 13.700 and was provisionally ranked third. Jordan Chiles, the last gymnast to compete, received an initial score of 13.666, which was later raised to 13.766 after a successful inquiry by her coach, pushing Bărbosu into fourth place. Romanian officials challenged the timing of that inquiry, while Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who finished fifth, disputed a penalty for stepping out of bounds.

CAS ruled in August 2024 that the inquiry on behalf of Chiles was filed one minute and four seconds after the score was posted, exceeding the deadline, and reassigned the bronze medal to Ana Bărbosu. 

However, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has now determined that the new video evidence could lead CAS to a different conclusion.

"The Federal Supreme Court rejected Jordan Chiles' appeal concerning the alleged lack of independence and impartiality of the arbitrator in question. However, it accepted both requests for revision. In the highly exceptional circumstances of the case in question, it considers that there is a likelihood for the audio-visual recording of the final on August 5, 2024, to lead to a modification of the contested award in favour of the applicants, since the CAS could consider, in the light of this audio-visual sequence, that the verbal inquiry made on behalf of Jordan Chiles had been made before the expiry of the regulatory one-minute time limit," reads the statement.

"The Federal Supreme Court therefore partially overturns the contested award and refers the case back to the CAS for a new ruling, taking into account the probative value of the audio-visual recording in question."

Sabin Gherdan, the lawyer representing Ana Maria Bărbosu, said the Swiss court identified procedural and organisational shortcomings that cannot be attributed to the Romanian gymnast.

"We will wait for a response from the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, which must continue the proceedings within the limits set by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. Specifically, it must examine the admissibility of the video evidence submitted by the American side after the close of the hearings in the first procedural stage. There will certainly be a new hearing for Ana Maria Bărbosu," he told Euronews Romania.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Comitetul Olimpic și Sportiv Român)