Livvy Dunne reflects on watching Simone Biles in person at Olympics, 'heartbreaking' Jordan Chiles controversy
Chiles was left off the podium, then awarded a medal, then stripped of it
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}You think Simone Biles is good on TV? Imagine watching her in person.
Well, Livvy Dunne did just that in Paris – in fact, she competed alongside the seven-time Olympic gold medalist when they were in their younger days.
"I used to do elite with her, and she just has always been so dominant," Dunne said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "I don’t know if there’s ever going to be anyone who has nearly the amount of talent as Simone Biles."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dunne took the trip to Paris to support Team USA, and she saw them dominate the games once again.
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Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles pose with their Olympic medals at Bercy Arena on Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
But, as usual, it was Biles who took her breath away.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Watching her in person is such a treat. To see what she does and how high she can go in person, it’s really an honor to watch her. That’s the best way to describe it," Dunne added.
While Dunne was in Paris, though, she saw first-hand the emotional roller coaster that Jordan Chiles was on.
Chiles initially finished fourth in the individual floor competition, but an accepted inquiry bumped her score up one-tenth of a point. That brought her to a bronze medal victory, causing the initial winner of the medal, Ana Barbosu, to go from celebration to tears and anger – all while Chiles and Biles celebrated.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jordan Chiles is congratulated by teammate Simone Biles after dramatically claiming the bronze medal on a score change on Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris. (Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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However, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation challenged that the inquiry was submitted past the one-minute deadline, which eventually was the ruling – thus, Chiles was left without a medal.
"That was a tricky situation. I don’t know if they made the scores close on purpose, I have no clue. I’ve never seen anything like that in gymnastics history," Dunne said. "I love Jordan, she’s one of my good friends, we grew up doing elite gymnastics together. I just think the whole situation was so tricky, and I feel bad for everyone that was a part of it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You obviously work so hard to get to the Olympics, and to have a medal there, and then taken away so easily, and have it be so finicky, it’s heartbreaking for everyone involved. I just hope my girl Jordan is OK. It got dragged out way too long, even after the games were over. The whole situation was just super tricky, and I feel so bad for all the girls involved."
Ana Maria Barbosu poses with her Olympic bronze medal on Aug. 16, 2024, in Bucharest, Romania. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images)
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Chiles filed an appeal in the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland in one more effort to get the medal back.
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