Jordan Chiles is ready to speak her truth after being stripped of her Olympic bronze medal.
“It’s been really, really hard just to comprehend everything that’s been happening,” Chiles, 23, said during a Monday, November 11, appearance on Today, her first live TV interview since the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I’ve been able to finally now feel comfortable in a way to talk about what has been happening.”
Growing emotional, Chiles told Hoda Kotb that she’s been experiencing “a difficult time” over the past few months.
“I’m ready to speak on my truth,” she added.
Chiles finished in fifth place following her floor routine at the 2024 Paris Olympics in August. Team USA requested an inquiry into the difficulty of one of Chiles’ skills, which changed her score and moved the athlete into third place, awarding her a bronze medal.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later upheld a separate inquiry made by Team Romania, who suggested that the initial Team USA inquiry was made four seconds after the one-minute deadline. Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu was ultimately given the bronze medal. Chiles said on Monday that they have not spoken.
Jordan Chiles joins us live with the latest on her ongoing battle for bronze. pic.twitter.com/oQ5aEotKPL
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 11, 2024
In September, Chiles’ legal team announced that they filed an appeal in the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland to overturn the call. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has publicly supported the filing.
“The support that’s been around me that I’ve been like, ‘OK, I can’t control anything that’s happening on the outside, I can only control what my truth is, and I know what the truth is, and I know that we were right in everything that we were doing,’” Chiles continued during her Today interview on Monday.
While the gymnast admitted that it’s “hard” to know whether everything will be fine, she is also ready to “overcome” this challenge.
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“I’ll be able to look back and say, you know what, ‘That was just a portion of my story, but it’s the truth.’ And that’s why I’m here today, is to tell my truth,” Chiles added.
The Olympian also spoke candidly about the importance of this moment in her life while at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit in September.
“The biggest thing that was taken from me was … the recognition of who I was. Not just my sport, but the person I am,” Chiles said. “To me, everything that has gone on is not about the medal. It’s about my skin color.”
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