However, her coaches submitted an inquiry on her behalf. According to NBC Olympics, “an inquiry is a verbal challenge of a routine’s score. It is followed by a written inquiry that must be submitted before the end of the rotation. The challenge can only be brought forward after the gymnast’s final score is posted and before the end of the next gymnast’s routine.”
If the gymnast is the last to compete, there is a one-minute time limit that begins after the score is shown on the scoreboard, as stated by the International Gymnastic Federation (FIG).
The scoring inquiry was regarding a split leap in Chiles’ routine known as the tour jeté full.
“In the team qualification and team final, she did not receive credit for this skill,” said Olympian and NBC gymnastics analyst John Roethlisberger during the broadcast. “In the initial evaluation of the skill, the judges did not give her credit for that. I spoke with Cecile and Laurent Landi, her coaches, and they mentioned, ‘We thought she did it much better here in the final. So we thought we have nothing to lose; let’s submit an inquiry.’”
After reviewing Chiles’ routine, the judges accepted the inquiry and awarded Chiles 0.1 for the leap, raising her score to 13.766 for third place.
Consequently, Chiles—who burst into happy tears upon seeing the results—won bronze. Meanwhile, Barbosu, who had already been waving Romania’s flag in celebration of her own performance, lost her spot on the podium.
