Romanian gymnast at center of Jordan Chiles Olympic medal controversy receives two-year suspension

Ana Bărbosu, who was awarded the bronze medal after Chiles was stripped of hers at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has been suspended for violating anti-doping testing requirements.

The controversy surrounding Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics is far from over, but one of the gymnasts at the center of the dispute is now facing a separate setback.

Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu, who was awarded the bronze medal in the women’s floor exercise final after Chiles was stripped of hers, has received a two-year suspension for violating anti-doping rules.

According to PEOPLE, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the suspension on Wednesday, Nov. 4, after Bărbosu failed to meet drug-testing whereabouts requirements three times within a 12-month period.

The violations occurred between September and December 2025, according to Reuters.

Under anti-doping regulations, athletes must keep testing officials informed of their whereabouts and designate a daily 60-minute window when they are available for testing. Three missed tests or filing failures within 12 months can result in a two-year suspension.

Importantly, Bărbosu’s violation did not involve testing positive for a banned substance.

The 20-year-old gymnast, who attends Stanford University, previously addressed the allegations on social media, explaining that adjusting to life in the United States while beginning college had been challenging.

“To be clear, this situation has nothing to do with prohibited substances,” she wrote in a May Instagram Story, according to PEOPLE.

Bărbosu appealed the initial suspension, but CAS determined that the whereabouts violations had been properly recorded. The court did, however, rule in her favor on one issue, allowing her competition results since December 2025 to stand.

Her suspension is effective May 5, 2026, making her eligible to return to competition in May 2028, ahead of the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

For fans who followed Chiles’ heartbreaking medal controversy, Bărbosu’s name is a familiar one.

During the women’s floor exercise final in Paris, Chiles initially finished fifth. But after her coach submitted an inquiry challenging her difficulty score, judges increased her score, moving her into third place and earning her the bronze medal.

The moment was especially memorable as Chiles joined Simone Biles on the medal podium alongside Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who won gold.

The celebration was short-lived.

Romanian officials challenged the timing of the American team’s scoring inquiry, arguing that it had been submitted outside the one-minute deadline. CAS subsequently ruled in Romania’s favor, and Chiles’ original score was reinstated, returning Bărbosu to third place.

Chiles was stripped of the bronze medal, a decision she and USA Gymnastics have continued to challenge.

The legal battle took another turn in January 2026 when Switzerland’s highest court ordered CAS to reconsider the case in light of additional evidence presented by Chiles’ legal team.

The medal dispute remains unresolved, with the parties requesting that another hearing not take place before May 2027.

Meanwhile, Bărbosu’s suspension is a separate matter that does not determine the outcome of Chiles’ appeal.

For Chiles, who has already announced plans to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the fight to reclaim her bronze medal continues.