Homburger appeals Olympic bronze medal decision for Jordan Chiles

On September 16, 2024, Homburger filed an application with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court on behalf of U.S. Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles to set aside an arbitral award by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Ms. Chiles was initially awarded the Olympic bronze medal in the women’s gymnastics floor exercise final at the 2024 Olympic Games after her coach’s inquiry led to an increase of her final score. However, a CAS panel later determined that the inquiry was submitted four seconds past the one-minute time limit, rendering it invalid, and denied Ms. Chiles her bronze medal. In her setting-aside application, Ms. Chiles asserts that CAS violated her right to be heard by disregarding video evidence that demonstrates that the inquiry was filed within the time limit. Additionally, she contends that the CAS panel was improperly constituted because its president had a conflict of interest due to ongoing close legal ties with Romania not disclosed to Ms. Chiles during the entire CAS proceedings.

The Homburger team advising Ms. Chiles is led by partner Gabrielle Nater-Bass and includes partner Stefanie Pfisterer, associates Richard G. Allemann and Frédéric Fitzi and junior associate Joël Kämpf (all Litigation / Arbitration). Homburger acts as co-counsel to international counsel to Ms. Chiles, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.