We thought the biggest drama that would come in the gymnastics women’s floor final would be the duel between Simone Biles and Rebecca Andrade, but nobody could have predicted what happened at the very end of the competition after Jordan Chiles took the floor.
Chiles was the final competitor, needing to better a 13.700 to make the podium. It was a big score, but attainable. What ensued was a really great performance, but perhaps not enough to make it.
The judges agreed, initially giving her a score of 13.666, which seemingly set the final places as:
- Rebecca Andrade (BRA): 14.166
- Simone Biles (USA): 14.133
- Ana Bărbosu (ROU): 13.700
- Sabrina Voinea (ROU) 13.700
- Jordan Chiles (USA): 13.666
Bărbosu had won bronze based on a degree of difficulty tiebreaker with her teammate. She grabbed the Romanian flag, was walking around the arena — then the announcement came that there was a revision to Chiles’ score.
So, what exactly happened? Team USA lodged a score inquiry immediately after Chiles’ 13.666 came through. They felt as though the judges missed an element to the routine, specifically a split jump with a full turn, which wasn’t judged as a full turn. It’s one of those small techniques that barely registers when you’re watching on TV, but the margin of error was so small that everything mattered.
The judges approved the review, acknowledged that they incorrectly scored the skill, and the score on the technique from a C-Start value, to a more difficult D-Start value. This meant an extra 0.1 points, and changed Chiles’ score to a 13.766, knocking the Romanian pair down and taking bronze.
It’s impossible not to feel for Bărbosu, who thought she’d won a medal only to find out she missed out all together. It was a wild ending we never expected.
