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  • Olympian Hezly Rivera edges Leanne Wong for victory at the US gymnastics championships

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    NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hezly Rivera was the fresh face a year ago. The newcomer. The teenager on a team of 20-something Olympic gymnasts, doing her best to absorb what she could from Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles.

    The one thing that stood out, even more than the sometimes otherworldly gymnastics, is the way her fellow gold-medal-winning teammates went about their business.

    “They looked so confident,” Rivera said. “They’re like, ‘I’m going to go out and I’m going to hit.’ It gave me that confidence as well.”

    Looks like it.

    The now 17-year-old who says she’s paying no attention to the idea that she’s the leader of the women’s program in the early stages of the run-up to the 2028 Olympics certainly looks the part.

    Buoyed by a polished steadiness — and a beam routine that finally looked the way it does back home at her home gym in Texas — Rivera captured her first national title Sunday night at the U.S. Championships. Her two-day total of 112.000 was good enough to fend off a challenge from Leanne Wong and put her in excellent position to lead the four-woman American delegation at the world championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, in October.

    Rivera, by far the youngest member of the five-woman team that finished atop the podium in Paris a year ago, bounced back from a shaky performance at the U.S. Classic last month with the kind of measured, refined gymnastics that she attributed to simply “letting go” of whatever pressure she might feel as the lone Olympic gold medalist in a remarkably young field.

    “No matter how rough the competition is, I still can get back into the gym and work hard because all those months previously that I’ve been working hard, I know it’s going to show up eventually,” she said. “So it kind of just took a weight off my shoulders.”

    Rivera, at the very least, locked up a spot in the world championship selection camp next month. So did Wong, a four-time world championship medalist, budding entrepreneur and pre-med student who shows no signs of slowing down despite years of competing collegiately and at the elite level simultaneously.

    Asked how she juggles it all, the 21-year-old who insists she doesn’t keep a planner said she lives by the motto “there’s time for everything.”

    Joscelyn Roberson, an Olympic alternate last summer, shook off an ankle injury suffered at the end of her floor routine to finish third as the three most internationally experienced athletes in the field looked ready to lead after spending most of the last Olympic quad learning from Biles and company.

    “You go from, ‘Oh you’re so young, you’re so young,’ to, ‘Oh, you are the older kid,’” the 19-year-old Roberson said. “People say, ‘How are you feeling?’ Like, I honestly don’t feel that different.”

    Two summers ago, Roberson was Biles’ bouncy sidekick. Now she’s among the leaders of the next wave.

    “I felt like more responsible to let the little, smaller, less experienced kids know it’s not the end of the day if you have a bad day or if you had one fall,” Roberson said. “I want to help them grow instead of think ‘I have to be perfect.’”

    Roberson then walked the walk. Or maybe limped the limp. She appeared ready to make it a three-woman race for first until she turned an ankle on the final tumbling pass of her floor routine.

    The rising sophomore at Arkansas gingerly continued on anyway. She gritted her way through her vault dismount, though the five-tenths (0.5) deduction for using an additional pad for her protection took her out of contention for the all-around.

    Still, the victory hardly came easy for Rivera. She was pushed through four rotations by Wong, who started Sunday with a stuck Cheng vault and didn’t relent over the course of two hours.

    Rivera responded each time — she posted the top scores on three of the four events — but it wasn’t until she walked off the podium following her floor routine with victory in hand that she could relax.

    “Everything fell into place,” Rivera said. “I tried not to get too overwhelmed because nerves obviously can be there, especially when you know you’re in a spot to win a national title, but I just took all pressure off myself.”

    Skye Blakely, who was injured at the Olympic Trials in both 2021 and 2024, was sublime on both uneven bars and balance beam to put herself in consideration to make the world team.

    ___

    AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

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  • Get It Right! Simone Biles’ Documentary May Have Helped Jordan Chiles’ Latest Bronze Medal Appeal

    Get It Right! Simone Biles’ Documentary May Have Helped Jordan Chiles’ Latest Bronze Medal Appeal

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    Source: Jamie Squire / Getty

    Olympic champion Jordan Chiles is still appealing the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling against her and her fellow US gymnastics teammate Simone Biles may have just helped her case.

    Biles’ latest documentary, Simone Biles Rising, includes footage from Team USA’s Olympic run this summer. In the Netflix film, the team coach, Cecile Landi, makes a formal inquiry before the one-minute cutoff mark. The controversial ruling that stripped Chiles of her bronze medal for the floor routine competition has greatly leaned on the claim that Landi did not appeal on Chiles’ behalf until the minute had already passed.

    The Netflix cameras determined that was a lie.

    Chiles has taken her appeal to the Swiss Supreme Court and now awaits their final ruling, Yahoo Sports reports. Her latest effort uses the time stamps of the documentary footage to prove that Landi’s filing of the inquiry was well within the appropriate timeframe; however, an official failed to log the inquiry until one minute and four seconds after Chiles’ score was recorded. The seconds, in this case, are what stands between the star gymnast and keeping her bronze medal.

    The documentary also revealed that an inquiry was submitted for Biles‘ routine as well. The GOAT gymnast took home the silver medal on an all-Black podium which included Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. Fans noted that Biles may have been awarded the gold had her inquiry been formally filed.

    “Honestly not a big deal for me, Rebeca had a better floor anyways,” Biles said to a fan on X. “upsetting how it wasn’t processed but I’m not mad at the results. BUT JUSTICE FOR JORDAN, ya hear me!!!!”

    Nothing but respect for our queen.

    Currently, our girls are part of the Gold Over America tour together where lucky fans can catch some of their favorite gymnasts performing all over the country. One monkey don’t stop no show!

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  • US appeals decision that led Jordan Chiles to be stripped of her bronze medal, provides evidence in her favor

    US appeals decision that led Jordan Chiles to be stripped of her bronze medal, provides evidence in her favor

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    (CNN) — The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Sunday that the bronze medal given to American gymnast Jordan Chiles in the floor exercise at the Paris Games will be awarded to her Romanian counterpart Ana Bărbosu.

    It comes after a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling on Saturday that said that the initial inquiry made by the USA over Chiles’ score in Monday’s gymnastics floor exercise final was filed after the one-minute deadline.

    The US is now appealing that decision and USA Gymnastics announced Sunday that it has submitted additional evidence to CAS as part of the effort to have gymnast Chiles’ medal reinstated.

    The organization said it has video evidence “conclusively establishing that Head Coach Cecile Landi’s request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, within the 1-minute deadline required by FIG rule.”

    “The video footage provided was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it.”

    The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said that Chiles’ original score of 13.666 would be reinstated and that Bărbosu’s ranking – with a score of 13.700 – would be improved to third.

    And the IOC confirmed that the score change will mean Chiles will be stripped of her bronze and given to Bărbosu.

    “Following the CAS decision with regard to the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final and the amendment of the ranking by the International Gymnastics Federation, the IOC will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu (Romania),” the IOC said in the statement.

    “We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal.”

    The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said Sunday that it would appeal the decision.

    “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,” the statement read.

    “The initial error occurred in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision. As a result, we were not properly represented or afforded the opportunity to present our case comprehensively.

    “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 competition on Monday ended in dramatic fashion. Immediately after the competition finished on Monday with Chiles’ routine, Bărbosu thought she had won the bronze medal after posting a score of 13.700.

    Chiles had initially posted a score of 13.666 but her coaches successfully challenged the difficulty score which added 0.1 to her score and moved her up to third, behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade and American Simone Biles.

    Their appearance together on the first all-Black Olympics gymnastics podium produced one of the most iconic images of the Games as the Americans bowed down to Andrade.

    However, CAS’ ruling that the inquiry submitted on behalf of Chiles “was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline” stipulated in the regulations threw Chiles’ medal into doubt.

    Chiles posted on her Instagram story after CAS’ ruling with four breaking hearts emojis and “I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you.”

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  • Jordan Chiles stripped of bronze medal; USA Gymnastics says coach requested inquiry before deadline

    Jordan Chiles stripped of bronze medal; USA Gymnastics says coach requested inquiry before deadline

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    PARIS — U.S. Olympic officials say they will appeal a court ruling that resulted in American gymnast Jordan Chiles being asked to return the bronze medal she won in the Paris Olympics floor exercise.

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided an on-floor appeal by Chiles’ coach that vaulted her to third, saying the appeal came 4 seconds beyond the 1-minute time limit for scoring inquiries.

    The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Saturday night it would respect the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to third. The International Olympic Committee confirmed the ruling Sunday, announcing that it was reallocating the bronze from last Monday’s women’s floor final to Romanian Ana Barbosu.

    “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,” the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee statement said.

    Barbosu posted a statement on her Instagram story on Sunday, saying, “Sabrina, Jordan, my thoughts are with you. I know what you are feeling, because I’ve been though the same. But I know you’ll come back stronger. I hope from the deep of my heart that at the next Olympics, all three of us will share the same podium. This is my true dream! This situation would not have existed if the persons in charge had respected the regulation. We, athletes are not to be blamed, and the hate directed to us is painful. I wanted to end this edition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the spirit of Olympism, the true value of the world.”

    CAS ruled Saturday that Team USA coach Cecile Landi’s inquiry to have 0.1 added to Chiles’ score came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the FIG. The CAS ad hoc committee wrote that Landi’s inquiry came 1 minute, 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted.

    But later Sunday, USA Gymnastics said it submitted additional video evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

    USA Gymnastics says the video shows Head Coach Cecile Landi’s request to file an inquiry an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the score was published, falling within the 1-minute deadline.

    The IOC said in an earlier statement it will be in touch with the USOPC regarding the return of Chiles’ bronze and will work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss a reallocation ceremony honoring Barbosu.

    “The initial error occurred in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision,” said the USOPC statement, which was released Sunday.

    It was unclear the exact process the appeal would take first. The two potential places the USOPC could take the appeal would be to Switzerland’s highest court, the Swiss Tribunal, or the European Court of Human Rights.

    CAS wrote Saturday that the initial finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision,” but left it up to the federation to decide who would get the medal behind gold winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the U.S.

    The FIG said it was the IOC’s call on whether to reallocate the medal. The IOC confirmed Sunday it would respect FIG’s decision and seek to have Chiles’ medal returned.

    The rapid turn of events adds another layer to what has been a difficult few days for all three athletes.

    Romanian gymnastics legend and 1976 Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci feared for Barbosu’s mental health because of the wrenching sequence in which she went from bronze medalist to fourth-place finisher.

    “I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them,” Comaneci posted on X earlier in the week.

    Comaneci, at the same time, criticized the judges for the way they scored Maneca-Voinea’s routine – the gymnast was docked 0.1 points for stepping out of bounds, but viral replays showed she narrowly stayed inbounds. Comaneci urged the Romanian Olympic Committee to protest, which it did, but CAS denied that appeal.

    Chiles hinted at the decision in an Instagram story on Saturday, indicating she is heartbroken and is “taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you.”

    Jazmin Chiles, Jordan’s sister, said on Instagram that Chiles was stripped of a medal “not because she wasn’t good enough. But because the judges failed to give her difficulty and forced an inquiry to be made.”

    U.S. teammates offered support to Chiles, a two-time Olympian.

    “Sending you so much love Jordan,” American star Simone Biles posted on Instagram. “Keep your chin up ‘Olympic champ’ we love you.”

    “All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?” six-time Olympic medalist Sunisa Lee added on Instagram. “Completely unacceptable, this is awful and I’m gutted for jordan.”

    USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Saturday it is “devastated” by the ruling.

    “The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the organization wrote.

    Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea were left outside the medals in the floor final after finishing with matching scores of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker – a higher execution score – and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.

    Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially given a score of 13.666 that placed her fifth, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an inquiry on Chiles’ score was announced.

    “At this point, we had nothing to lose, so I was like ‘We’re just going to try,’” Landi said after the awards ceremony. “I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen, but when I heard her scream, I turned around and was like ‘What?’”

    Judges awarded the appeal, leapfrogging Chiles past Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea.

    Barbosu made it a point after returning home to Romania that she had no problem with Chiles.

    “I only want for everybody to be fair, we don’t want to start picking on other athletes of any nationality,” Barbosu told reporters. “We as athletes don’t deserve something like that, we only want to perform as best as we can and to be rewarded based on our performance. The problems lie with the judges, with their calculations and decisions.”

    Chiles’ mother, Gina Chiles, called out the critics in a post, writing she was “tired” of the derogatory comments being leveled at Jordan.

    “My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched,” Gina Chiles posted. “And she’s being called disgusting things.”

    The uncertainty also tinges what had been a beautiful moment on the medal stand, when Chiles and Biles knelt to honor Andrade after the Brazilian star won her fourth medal in Paris.

    “It was just the right thing to do,” Biles said about a moment that soon went viral, with even the Louvre itself suggesting it might be worthy enough for a spot somewhere in the vicinity of the Mona Lisa.

    That memory now carries a complicated and emotional postscript.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Stephen McGrath and AP Sports Writers Eddie Pells and Graham Dunbar contributed to this report.

    ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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  • Court voids inquiry that led to bronze for American Jordan Chiles, doesn’t say who should get medal

    Court voids inquiry that led to bronze for American Jordan Chiles, doesn’t say who should get medal

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    PARIS — The Court of Arbitration for Sport voided the inquiry that led to Olympic bronze on the floor exercise for American gymnast Jordan Chiles, opening the door for Romania’s Ana Barbosu to replace Chiles as bronze medalist.

    CAS ruled Saturday that the appeal by U.S. coach Cecile Landi to have .1 added to Chiles’ score that vaulted Chiles from fifth to third came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

    CAS wrote in its decision that the initial finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision.”

    Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea were left outside the medals in Monday’s floor final after finishing with matching scores of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker – a higher execution score – and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.

    Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially was given a score of 13.666 that put her in fifth place, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an inquiry on her score, and after a review, judges boosted Chiles’ total by 0.1. That was enough to leapfrog Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for the last spot on the podium.

    USA Gymnastics said in a statement it is “devastated” by the ruling.

    “The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring,” the organization wrote.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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  • The final image of Simone Biles at the Olympics was a symbol of joy — and where the sport is going

    The final image of Simone Biles at the Olympics was a symbol of joy — and where the sport is going

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    PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles cast a knowing glance across the awards podium toward Jordan Chiles.

    The longtime friends and U.S. gymnastics teammates knew they needed to find a way to honor Brazilian star Rebeca Andrade. They just weren’t sure how.

    What they came up with after Andrade’s gold medal on floor exercise at the end of 10 days inside Bercy Arena symbolized the state of their sport at the 2024 Games.

    Where it is. And hopefully where it’s going.

    Biles, the unequivocal Greatest of All Time, and Chiles, a three-time Olympic medalist whose journey back to the Games was a testament to talent and grit, dropped down to one knee. It was a show of respect to Andrade, whose excellence is symbolic of a sport that is getting more diverse, more inclusive and perhaps more positive as it goes.

    “It was just the right thing to do,” Biles said about a moment that soon went viral, with even the Louvre itself suggesting it might be worthy enough for a spot somewhere in the vicinity of the Mona Lisa.

    Fitting for an Olympics that offered masterpieces everywhere you looked.

    Biles eagerly shares the stage

    Biles and the American women finished off their “Redemption Tour” by reclaiming gold in the team final. Biles exorcised whatever inner doubt remained from the Tokyo Games — and shut up the haters in the process — by winning a second all-around title eight years after her first.

    Andrade led Brazil to its first Olympic team medal (a bronze), then added three more in the individual competition, finishing runner-up to Biles in the all-around and vault before becoming the first woman in memory to edge Biles in a floor exercise final.

    The Italian women won their first team medal in nearly a century. Japan put together a stirring rally on high bar in the last rotation to slip by rival China for gold. The U.S. men and “Pommel Horse Guy” Stephen Nedoroscik returned to the Olympic podium for the first time in 16 years. Carlos Yulo of the Philippines tripled his country’s Summer Olympic all-time gold medal count in a mere 24 hours.

    The good vibes were everywhere, led by Biles, who seemed to make it a point to take her vibrant spotlight and redirect it toward the other women on the floor as often as possible.

    That was never more evident than what could have been the last day of her career. The 27-year-old’s voice could be heard shouting encouragement to each of the other balance beam finalists inside an eerily quiet arena. Regardless of nationality. Regardless of age. Regardless of score. Regardless of how well she might know them.

    Afterward, Biles spoke glowingly of Italians Alice D’Amato and Manila Esposito, who earned gold and bronze in beam after half the field — Biles included — fell inside an arena so still that Biles joked she could hear cell phones buzzing.

    “I’m super excited and proud of them because now they’re building bricks (for a program) for the other Italian girls,” she said.

    U.S. women’s team dismantles stereotypes

    Jordan Chiles, of the United States, and Simone Biles, of the United States, celebrate after the women’s artistic gymnastics individual floor finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. Biles won the silver medal and Chiles the bronze medal. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

    Those bricks have long been in place in the U.S., yet what Biles, Chiles, six-time Olympic medalist Sunisa Lee and three-time Olympic medalist Jade Carey did in Paris is destroy the “little girls in pretty boxes” stereotype that has lingered over the sport for decades once and for all.

    The four 20-somethings — oh, and 16-year-old Hezly Rivera, too — came to France with a score to settle. Biles to put those strange days in Japan three years ago firmly in the rearview mirror. Lee to rid herself of the “imposter syndrome” that kept nagging at her following her all-around gold in Tokyo and the health issues that pushed her to the verge of quitting over and over again. Chiles and Carey to put the Americans back on top after ceding the top of the podium to Russia.

    The group checked every box. The U.S. won eight of 18 possible medals, including four for Biles to boost her Olympic total to 11, tied for the second most ever by a women’s gymnast in the history of the event.

    Yet just as important as the results was the process they took to get there. There was pressure but there was also joy in abundance for the oldest team the Americans have ever brought to the Games, a team that has dubbed itself “The Golden Girls.”

    “It’s been so much fun,” Carey said. “And I think so many have seen that, that we’re just having fun out there. And I think that’s bringing out the best gymnastics from us.”

    ‘We did it’

    A decade ago, the core four would be heading off into retirement while the next wave of prodigies came along. It says something about the rapidly shifting demographics on the floor and the rising interest in women’s gymnastics at large that not one of them — Biles included — has made any firm decisions about their future.

    Biles nudged the door toward Los Angeles 2028 open when she said over the weekend “never say never.” Lee, still just 21, is taking time before weighing her options. Carey and Chiles will join Biles on her post-Olympic tour and have college eligibility remaining.

    No one is in a hurry. Biles in particular. She chastised the media for pressing about the future so soon after the biggest moment of athletes’ lives. For a long time — for too long, in hindsight — she fixated on what’s next.

    No longer. She was intent on soaking in her third Olympics. Of enjoying it. And she did, from the first pressure-packed rotation in qualifying to that moment with Chiles and Andrade, when the last of the weight she’s been carrying for years lifted off her shoulders, perhaps for good.

    “There’s nothing left,” Biles said. “We did our job, you know what I’m saying? So yeah, it was hard, but we did it.”

    __

    AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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