Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu, who won a bronze on floor exercise at the 2024 Olympic Games after a controversial ruling that stripped the medal from American Jordan Chiles, will join Stanford’s gymnastics team in the fall. She announced her commitment via Instagram on Wednesday.
“Can’t wait to join this amazing family! Go Card,” she wrote.
Bărbosu, 18, was awarded the bronze medal six days after the floor exercise final after her team appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). During the Aug. 5 event, Chiles made the podium after her coach, Cecile Landi, successfully inquired to have Chiles’ score raised by 0.1, bumping her from fifth to third place. The court ruled that the judges presiding over the final should not have accepted the inquiry because Landi’s request came four seconds after the one-minute deadline to submit it. The International Olympic Committee reallocated Chiles’ bronze medal to Bărbosu, who received it at a ceremony in Bucharest, Romania’s capital.
Bărbosu’s elation and devastation was in the spotlight on the day of the floor exercise final. When Chiles, the last competitor in the event, initially scored a 13.666, Bărbosu — who scored 13.700 — began celebrating what she thought was a third-place finish. After Landi’s inquiry led to Chiles’ score change, Bărbosu’s dropped her Romanian flag out of shock and left the floor in tears.
Though Bărbosu is currently the official owner of the bronze, the medal is still tied up in appeals. Chiles’ attorneys filed a formal appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s Supreme Court, to overturn the CAS ruling on Sept. 16 and added a second appeal brief on Sept. 24. USA Gymnastics also filed a separate appeal in conjunction with Chiles’ application. Chiles’ attorneys are arguing that CAS did not consider video evidence that “showed her inquiry was submitted on time.”
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While Bărbosu’s participation in the Paris Games has largely been clouded by the floor final controversy, she helped Romania to a seventh-place finish in the team final and earned a spot in the individual all-around final. In the 2026 NCAA gymnastics season, she’ll join a Stanford squad that went on a Cinderella run from a No. 52 ranking in Week 1 to the 2024 NCAA championship semifinal. It’s likely Bărbosu and Chiles will face off at the collegiate level next season, as Chiles will be completing her senior season with UCLA gymnastics and Bărbosu will make her NCAA debut. Former Pac-12 foes Stanford and UCLA are in different conferences now (the ACC and Big Ten, respectively), but the schools have a dual meet slated for March 9, indicating they will likely continue scheduling meets together in the future.
Another gymnast who competed for Romania at the 2024 Olympics will also enter the NCAA ranks soon, as Lilia Cosman committed to Michigan State.
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(Photo: Lionel Bonaventure / AFP via Getty Images)
