Ana Maria Bărbosu Receives Olympic Bronze in Special Ceremony

The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee announced on Thursday that the 18-year-old gymnast will receive the Olympic medal during a ceremony scheduled for Friday, August 16, at 3:30 PM on the esplanade of the Olympic House in Bucharest. The ceremony was initially planned for 9:30 AM.

The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee received the bronze medal due to gymnast Ana Maria Bărbosu on Monday in Paris, awarded to Romania by the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The medal was handed over to the COSR representative by the Organizing Committee, with the approval of the International Olympic Committee.

According to the COSR, the medal now in the possession of the Olympic committee is not physically the same medal that Jordan Chiles received at the awards ceremony after the Olympic floor final.

Bărbosu and her team appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), arguing that a protest filed by Jordan Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, regarding the competition results, was submitted after the one-minute deadline and that Chiles should not have been awarded the score of 13.766, which propelled her to third place. However, USA Gymnastics stated that it provided CAS with video footage that was not available to the governing body before the tribunal’s decision.

The International Gymnastics Federation confirmed on Saturday evening that Ana Maria Bărbosu would receive the bronze medal in the floor exercise at the Olympics following the decision of CAS’s Ad Hoc Division. CAS accepted only the appeal of gymnast Ana Maria Bărbosu and not that of Sabrina Voinea.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport published its reasoning for the decision on Wednesday in the Olympic floor final case. As a result, Jordan Chiles will have to return the medal she received in Paris, according to News.ro.

CAS presented the full ruling in the cases: “CAS OG 24/15 Romanian Gymnastics Federation and Ana Bărbosu vs. International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and Donatella Sacchi” and “CAS OG 24/16 Romanian Gymnastics Federation and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea vs. International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and Donatella Sacchi.”