Jordan Chiles breaks silence on bronze medal being stripped
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(NEW YORK) — U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles broke her silence over having the bronze medal she won from the floor exercise in Paris stripped by the Court of Arbitration for Sport following a challenge.
“I am overwhelmed by the love I have received over the past few days,” Chiles wrote on Instagram. “I am also incredibly grateful to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, USAG, and the USOPC for their unwavering support during this difficult time.”
She continued, “While celebrating my Olympic accomplishments, I heard the devastating news that my bronze medal had been stripped away. I had confidence in the appeal brought by USAG, who gave conclusive evidence that my score followed all the rules. This appeal was unsuccessful.”
In discussing the unsuccessful results of the appeal, Chiles shared her disappointment.
“I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey,” she wrote.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Monday it would not hear Chiles’ appeal to keep her bronze medal from the Paris Olympics despite new evidence, according to USA Gymnastics.
Initially, Chiles finished fifth in the individual floor exercise at last week’s Games, only to be moved up to the bronze medal spot when her coaches appealed the scoring of one of the elements in her routine. She jumped from fifth to third, leaping over two Romanian gymnasts — including Ana Barbosu, who had already begun celebrating bronze.
The International Gymnastics Federation awarded Barbosu third place after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided the appeal made by Chiles’ coach at the event, with CAS saying Chiles’ score was “raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline.” In saying the challenge came too late, the CAS reinstated the incorrect 13.666 score.
Chiles also noted Thursday that since the appeal process, she has received hurtful messages online.
“To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country,” she wrote.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Five-time Olympic swimmer Dara Torres felt nervous about asking her doctor if she could compete three weeks after giving birth.
Her doctor asked her to wait. She could start some light exercise tomorrow, though.
Torres, now the head coach of Boston College’s swimming and diving teams, remembers running into her doctor 10 days later at the gym.
“I don’t know if the endorphins were going, because I was at a gym and I was working out and I was feeling good,” Torres told ABC News. But she asked her doctor, “I have a meet in a week and a half. Can I swim in it?”
Torres did end up swimming in that meet. Her impressive performance there paved the way for her 2008 Olympic comeback only 16 months after giving birth.
The spotlight on elite athletes like Allyson Felix returning to competition after having a baby has contributed to increased resources for parents competing in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. However, shortfalls in research and guidance for athletes in the 12-week “postpartum” period following the birth of a child can hinder their return to competition and make it harder to achieve their peak performance.
Sparse advice for athletes post-childbirth
“There’s very little data out there about how postpartum women should progress, that’s supported by science. It’s mostly expert opinion,” said Dr. Ellen Casey, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
This opinion is to listen to your body. “Your body’s going to tell you when you’ve pushed its limits,” said Dr. Melissa Simon, an OB-GYN at Northwestern Medicine.
“Just like if you’re trying to go from the couch to running a 5K, there’s a ramp up,” Simon said. “And for an athlete, that ramp up period obviously changes depending on the particular sport or event that they’re participating in.”
Olympian Ashley Twichell got back in the pool seven weeks after delivery. “I vividly remember my first day getting back in the water,” she told ABC News. Her time was slower than she hoped for. “My training times have never really gotten back to what they were pre-pregnancy,” but her competition times are catching up.
She remembers telling herself “this might be a little bit longer of a journey and maybe a little bit harder of a journey than I expected.”
Twichell is part of USA Swimming’s Board of Directors as the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Advisory Council representative.
Torres, on the other hand, said that her joints were more flexible after giving birth, and her swim times reflected this. “My body changed, but it was for the better,” she said.
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Torres shaved time off the 50-meter freestyle performance at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
“I was probably in the best shape of my life after I had my daughter,” said Torres.
But the scientific jury is out on how pregnancy and childbirth affect performance. According to a review of the existing studies regarding postpartum performance in athletes, most were considered low quality.
One of the few studies to examine this question looked at the 150 best female marathoners worldwide. Of the 37 who had given birth, 70% posted their best times after giving birth.
More research is needed to understand how postpartum athletes should return to competitive sports, and “we have a long ways to go,” said Pamela Geisel. Geisel, an exercise physiologist, is the director of performance and wellness services at HSS.
Regaining core strength is key
The postpartum bounceback can be hard for athletes — and anyone for that matter — for a multitude of reasons: increased metabolic demands with breastfeeding, sleep deprivation and postpartum blues or depression.
Healing the pelvic floor and abdominal wall after delivery can be a particular problem for a lot of new moms.
Torres said “my core was so mushy,” after giving birth. This “mushiness” can be due to a condition called rectus diastasis, where the connective tissue between the abs muscles is separated or torn.
“Some statistics say that 100% of pregnant women will have some degree of separation,” in this connective tissue for the baby to grow, said Casey.
For 30% to 60% of postpartum women, the tissue doesn’t go back to how it was before pregnancy, Casey continued. However, “just because it’s common does not make it normal,” she emphasized.
Pelvic floor and core strengthening exercises can reduce pain and other complications from rectus diastasis, she said. Other experts say Kegels and squats can help strengthen the pelvic floor, while planks and crunches help the core.
“Strengthening the core was pretty key for me,” Torres agreed.
New taskforce advocates for more resources
The USPOC launched the Women’s Health Taskforce in 2022, which has focused on creating plans to support the women of Team USA. Casey is a part of this 16 person panel that has generated guidelines for postpartum return.
Advocacy for parent athletes resulted in the first ever Olympic village nursery. The nursery offers a childcare center, free diapers and wipes, and private spaces for breastfeeding.
“This is probably the most parent friendly Olympics ever,” said Simon.
However, Geisel said there is still much work to be done.
“We have a group of athletes that had to choose between becoming mothers or winning gold medals,” in the past, Geisel said. “I’m excited about the future and that women no longer will have to choose one or the other.”
Sejal Parekh, M.D., is a practicing pediatrician and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
Bronze medalist Noah Lyles of Team United States is seen wearing a mask after competing in the Men’s 200m Final on day thirteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 08, 2024 in Paris, France. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Noah Lyles’ characteristically exuberant walkout for Thursday’s 200-meter final gave little indication that the American sprinter was among the dozens of athletes who have tested positive for COVID or other respiratory illnesses.
But within minutes, the track star was being pushed from the stadium in a wheelchair, in visible discomfort following his bronze medal-winning performance.
“I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics,” Lyles wrote soon after on his Instagram page.
Lyles is the latest athlete to test positive for COVID-19 at an Olympic Games that has almost entirely done away with the strict health guidance that shaped the Tokyo 2020 games, which itself was delayed by a year due to the pandemic.
In Paris, there are no prohibitions on competitors or spectators who have tested positive for the virus.
The Paris Games is being lauded as an Olympic return to form, the City of Light’s venues packed with excited spectators — among them athletes’ friends and families, many of whom were unable to travel to Tokyo.
But the collective joy is coming at a cost.
British swimmer Adam Peaty, Australian swimmers Lani Pallister and Zac Stubblety-Cook, and German decathlete Manuel Eitel are among at least 40 athletes that had tested positive for COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses as of Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization’s event-based surveillance system, which collates reports from media and other verified sources.
The Paris Games’ 182-page media handbook contains no mention of COVID-19. The event’s online guidance for spectators directs visitors to the Interior Ministry’s website, which notes that the nation now exempts all travelers from any COVID-related “formalities prior to entry into France.”
A Paris 2024 spokesperson told ABC News: “We are closely monitoring the health situation in conjunction with the Ministry of Health.”
“We regularly remind athletes, and all stakeholders at the Games, of the best practices to follow in the event of respiratory symptoms: wear a mask in the presence of others, limit contact and wash your hands regularly with soap and water or hydroalcoholic gel,” the spokesperson said.
“All National Olympic Committees and International Federations are also free to implement additional measures for their athletes or competitions,” the spokesperson added.
COVID cases are rising in the U.S. and elsewhere, an uptick at least partially attributed to the new “FLiRT” variation of the virus.
Long COVID — an umbrella term referring to a raft of chronic conditions related to COVID infection — also still poses a significant problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in March that 6.8% of American adults said they were living with long COVID symptoms, which vary in severity and can include difficulty concentrating, recurring headaches, changes in memory, and persistent fatigue.
Lyles’ high-profile struggles on Thursday have prompted fresh questions for organizers and athletes, not least as the American sprinter had been hugging fellow athletes despite knowing of his positive test.
USA Track & Field told ABC News in a statement on Friday that it and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee “swiftly enacted all necessary protocols” to prioritize Lyles’ health following his positive COVID test, as well as the “wellbeing of our team, and the safety of fellow competitors.”
“Our primary commitment is to ensure the safety of Team USA athletes while upholding their right to compete,” it added. “After a thorough medical evaluation, Noah chose to compete tonight. We respect his decision and will continue to monitor his condition closely.”
“As an organization, we are rigorously adhering to CDC, USOPC, and IOC guidelines for respiratory illnesses to prevent the spread of illness among team members, safeguarding their health and performance,” it said.
Kenneth Bednarek, the American who won the silver medal in the 200-meter contest, downplayed the danger, telling reporters at a press conference after the race: “I don’t think I was put at risk at all.”
“I take care of my body,” Bednarek added. “So when it comes to getting sick, that’s rare for me. So, I mean, when I found out it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Philadelphia Phillies 2, Tampa Bay Rays 1 New York Mets 3, Toronto Blue Jays 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE Boston Red Sox 12, Baltimore Orioles 3 New York Yankees 10, Kansas City Royals 4 Los Angeles Angels 6, Minnesota Twins 2 Cleveland Guardians 5, Chicago White Sox 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE Chicago Cubs 10 at Los Angeles Dodgers 4 Cincinnati Reds 1, Atlanta Braves 0 Pittsburgh Pirates 3, Miami Marlins 2
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE San Francisco 49ers 32, New York Jets 19
