The Romanian gymnast at the center of controversy surrounding the bronze floor exercise medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics is now dealing with some turmoil of her own.
Ana Barbosu has been suspended from competition for two years, starting in May 2026, meaning she will be eligible to return to competition in May 2028, two months before the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Barbosu committed “three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period,” resulting in a violation and suspension for anti-doping purposes.
Athletes are required to provide a 60-minute timeslot “whereabouts” so they can be found and available for random drug testing, per the International Testing Agency.
Barbosu appealed the initial suspension in August, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld the original decision.
Barbosu spoke out about the situation on her Instagram stories in May.
“I wanted to share and clarify some information that has been circulating,” she wrote. “As you can imagine, moving to the US and starting college [at Stanford within the last year] has been a big transition. Navigating through all the changes has been challenging, and I’m continuing to learn and grow through each experience.
“To be clear, this situation has nothing to do with prohibited substances, and I have been grateful for the guidance and support throughout the process.”
Barbosu was part of the flip-flopping that occurred with the 2024 bronze medal for the floor exercise in Paris.
American star Jordan Chiles initially came in fifth place with a score of 13.666, while Barbosu and countrywoman Sabrina Maneca-Voinea finished third and fourth respectively with the same score — 13.700. Chiles’ coach contested the decision, and judges updated her score to represent a heightened difficulty score, giving her the bronze medal.
After the Romanian Olympic committee contested the revised decision, it was reversed again, and Chiles was moved back to fifth place.
The CAS will rehear the bronze medal case in May 2027, when a final resolution will likely be determined.
