By Vanessa Cort

TWO international athletes have recently been subjected to harsh criticism over social media, through no fault of their own.

US gymnast Jordan Chiles and Italian tennis player, Jannik Sinner, currently ranked number one in the world, have been the centre of controversy as a result of decisions made by officials in their respective sport.

Chiles received widespread publicity after she was asked to return the bronze medal she won at the Paris Olympics last month.

Originally awarded fifth place, she was upgraded to the third spot following an appeal by her coach, Cecil Landi, who contended that the judges had not taken into account the level of difficulty of her routine.

The ecstatic athlete celebrated her bronze medal win, along with teammate, Simone Biles, who took the silver and Brazilian Rebecca Andrade, who won gold.

In an inspiring moment at the podium, the two American gymnasts bowed to the Brazilian gold medallist, showing their respect for her winning performance in the artistic gymnastics women’s floor exercise.

This act was heralded as the photo of the Paris Olympics. Now it may well symbolise all that can go wrong at the world’s most prestigious sporting event. For just days after this picture was taken, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the judging panel erred in granting the American appeal.

The ruling was based on a challenge from the Romanian Gymnastics Federation stating that the appeal was made after the one-minute deadline.

Video evidence submitted by USA Gymnastics, showing that the verbal inquiry was made 47 seconds after the posting of Chiles’ score, was evidently lodged too late and hence the CAS refused to change its ruling.
Subsequently, Anna Barbosu, the Romanian gymnast who originally placed third, was awarded the bronze medal by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The IOC’s decision to strip Chiles of the medal caused a furore throughout the US and the athletics world, with fans and others ‘ weighing in’ on social media.

The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has announced its intention to file an appeal, stating that there were ” critical errors in both the initial scoring…and the subsequent CAS appeal process.”

Meanwhile, Jordan Chiles, who is blameless in all of this, has been the subject of racially driven attacks and scathing criticism by judgmental social media pundits.

The ‘heartbroken’ athlete spoke of her hurt at these unwarranted attacks and at the decision, which she said was, “…unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey.”

She also announced that this would mark a turning point in her career and that she had “no words” to fully express what she was feeling.

Tennis star Jannik Sinner, has also been at the centre of a media ‘storm,’ when information was released last month, that he had tested positive twice for anabolic steroids in his system.

Sinner was initially charged with two anti-doping rule violations by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and provisionally suspended.

After much back and forth and further investigation by an independent tribunal, the tennis player’s explanation of how the substance got into his system was accepted.

He submitted that the steroid, contained in a cream used for a cut on the finger of his physiotherapist, was transmitted to his skin during a massage.

Sinner claimed to be unaware of the steroid in the cream, following an assurance by the physio, who wore no gloves, that it was untainted.
Further, the amount was found to be so small that it could in no way enhance his performance on court.

However, instead of receiving a two-year ban, as is normally the case with such violations, the world number one was stripped of points and prize money earned at the meet where he was tested.

Many tennis players and critics on social media felt that Sinner was given favoured treatment, while others had been banned in similar circumstances.

But neither Jannik Sinner nor Jordan Chiles should bear responsibility for the decisions made in their respective cases. Yet they have had to bear the brunt of criticism and vilification by those displeased with the judgements.

The toll on the mental health of both of these athletes must be considerable and is a matter of grave concern at this time, when the mental well-being of all in society is finally receiving the attention it merits.

Both the International Tennis Federation and the IOC need to streamline and establish clear protocols to prevent this kind of shameful mix-up from occurring in the future.

It yet remains to be seen just how all of this negative attention will affect these two athletes, who have worked so hard and so tirelessly to be successful in their chosen sports