Chiles’ attorneys have submitted footage to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland provided by the production company and director of Biles’ docuseries
Footage from Simone Biles’ Netflix documentary may be the smoking gun in the fight for Jordan Chiles’ Olympic medal.
As the 23-year-old Olympian’s attorneys continue to advocate for Chiles to be re-awarded her bronze medal from the artistic gymnastics floor final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, court documents obtained by PEOPLE reveal that video footage from Simone Biles: Rising captured in Paris may prove that Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi submitted her inquiry in time.
During the competition on Aug. 5, Chiles was initially given a score that put her in fifth place. Landi quickly submitted a successful inquiry to the judges to reevaluate her difficulty score, which put her ahead of two Romanian gymnasts and into bronze, which she was awarded during the medal ceremony.
But days later, Chiles’ bronze was stripped after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided that Landi had been four seconds late to submit the inquiry. The American was stripped of her medal and it was awarded to Romanian Ana Barbosu following the CAS decision.
Now, in documents filed on Monday, Sept. 16 in the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, Chiles’ attorney has submitted footage from Religion of Sports, the production company behind Biles’ docuseries, and director Katie Walsh that they claim proves the “exact time” Landi inquired on Chiles’ behalf.
Monday’s new filing argues that Landi first stated she’d like an “inquiry for Jordan” 49 seconds after the result came in, which falls within the 60 second window granted for appeals.
According to the documents, Chiles is seen hugging her coach 15 seconds after the result at the Bercy Arena in Paris. Landi cannot be seen in the video footage provided by Religion of Sports to the court, but the filing claims that Landi “clearly and audibly” stated “an oral objection for the first time” 49 seconds after the result.
The footage also apparently shows two “technical assistants” making “eye contact with” Landi and nodding to her “to indicate receipt of the Verbal Inquiry,” per the filing.
The filing on Monday by Chiles’ attorney claims that the CAS “violated Chiles’s fundamental ‘right to be heard’ by refusing to consider the video evidence that showed her inquiry was submitted on time — in direct contradiction to the findings in CAS’s decision.”
The gymnast’s legal team is also arguing that CAS president Hamid G. Gharavi had a “serious conflict of interest” in the matter between Chiles and Barbosu of Romania. Per the documents, Gharavi acted as counsel for Romania for nearly a decade and had been an active representative of the nation at the time of the CAS’ decision to strip Chiles of her medal.
“Jordan Chiles’ appeals present the international community with an easy legal question — will everyone stand by while an Olympic athlete who has done only the right thing is stripped of her medal because of fundamental unfairness in an ad-hoc arbitration process? The answer to that question should be no. Every part of the Olympics, including the arbitration process, should stand for fair play,” said Maurice M. Suh, counsel for Chiles.
A letter was also filed in support of Chiles’ appeal on Monday by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), according to the gymnast’s attorneys.
In a statement the same day, USA Gymnastics announced their support for Chiles’ appeal and said the organization made a “collective, strategic decision to have Jordan lead the initial filing.”
“USAG is closely coordinating with Jordan and her legal team and will make supportive filings with the court in the continued pursuit of justice for Jordan,” the statement from USA Gymnastics concluded.
