Jordan Chiles looking for ‘my peace’ and ‘my justice’ after bronze medal dispute

In her first public comments since being stripped of a bronze medal she appeared to have rightfully won, Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles on Wednesday said she’s still seeking “justice” and “peace.”

Chiles, speaking at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit, said the situation regarding the disputed medal has taken a severe emotional toll.

“The biggest thing that was taken from me was,” Chiles said, her voice choking with emotion that forced her into a 14-second delay to compose herself, “the recognition of who I was, not just my sport, but the person I am.”

Chiles has said she’s had to endure, often on her own, racist internet criticism in the wake of this international dispute.

“At this rate, it’s not really about the medal, it’s about my peace and my justice,” the 23-year-old said at the conference. “It’s about my skin color. It’s about how I felt there weren’t a lot of people supporting me who I thought could support me.”

Chiles originally finished fifth on the floor exercise before coach Cecile Landi saw that judges had erred in evaluating the degree of difficulty for an element of her routine.

Once that scoring error was corrected, Chiles vaulted into third place and the bronze medal.

Romanian sports authorities loudly protested, and on the last day of the Games, the IOC announced it would abide by a Court of Arbitration for Sport that found that Landi’s protest was made 64 seconds after scores were posted.

The deadline for such action is one minute.

The bronze was then awarded to Romanian Ana Bărbosu, 18.

Despite this setback, Chiles still has on her mantle a team gold from Paris and a bronze earned three years earlier in Tokyo.

Chiles, whose father is Black and mother is Latina, said she’s doing her best to deal with online hate since the controversy erupted.

“I am a two-time Olympic champion, I am a two-time Olympian, I am a world champion. I am all those things,” Chiles said.