Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Columbia chooses a new leader, Sara Blakely reveals her next invention, and a bronze medal controversy casts a shadow on a successful Olympics for female athletes. Have a restorative weekend!
– Battle for bronze. The Paris Olympics ended on a record-breaking high note for female athletes. Team USA’s women took home 26 out of 40 gold medals and 67 out of its total 126 medals—more than half. If the American women were their own country, they would have placed third worldwide by medal count.
And yet the slow trickle of Olympics news is finishing on a low note, with a controversy over a bronze medal won by U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles on Aug. 5. Last week, Romania’s gymnastics federation challenged Chiles’s score in the floor exercise final, which had been increased after a reevaluation during the event, knocking two Romanian gymnasts out of contention for the bronze. The inquiry led to a heartbreaking result for Chiles: on Sunday, the International Olympic Committee asked Chiles to return her medal.
Chiles spoke out for the first time yesterday afternoon about the episode. “I have no words,” the 23-year-old wrote on Instagram. “This decision feels unjust.”
USA Gymnastics has taken issue with several aspects of the inquiry, saying the wrong American officials were notified so it did not have proper time to respond. It raised new evidence that shows that the on-the-floor inquiry into Chiles’s score was in fact submitted within a one-minute deadline (the issue at hand in Romania’s objection).
Even the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which first found that Chiles’s score revision was outside an allotted window, has objected to the way the International Gymnastics Federation (known as FIG) has handled the original re-scoring and resulting change to the bronze winner. The arbitration body suggested all three gymnasts in contention for third place receive a medal, but the international gymnastics organization was unwilling to do so. While Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu is set to receive her bronze medal today, Chiles has not returned hers. The U.S. has another appeal planned.
Jordan Chiles was asked to return her bronze medal—an episode that has cast a pall over a successful Olympics for female athletes. Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images “I am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career. Believe me when I say I have had many,” Chiles wrote in her statement. “[I] will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing.”
It’s a distressing end to what had been a marquee summer for women’s sports. From basketball to gymnastics, women athletes took the spotlight at what was dubbed the first “gender-equal” Olympics. This particular gymnastics podium, too, was a history-making moment for female athletes. With Chiles winning the bronze, Simone Biles the silver, and Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade the gold, it was the first gymnastics podium composed of three Black women. The image of Chiles and Biles bowing down to Andrade was etched into gymnastics history.
Now, the controversy over Chiles’s medal is what will be remembered by many. Lapses by the rule-makers in charge of the sport prevented a history-making achievement from receiving its due celebration. At a pivotal moment for women’s sports, it’s a missed opportunity. We should be talking about the achievements of these athletes—not about institutions that have failed them.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
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- New leadership. Katrina Armstrong, Columbia University’s executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences, was appointed interim president of the university, after Minouche Shafik’s resignation months after protests over the Gaza war divided the campus. Armstrong wrote to the Columbia community, “I am acutely aware of the trials the university has faced over the past year. We should neither understate their significance, nor allow them to define who we are and what we will become.” New York Times
- Self-swab. A new cervical cancer screening option will be made available in doctors’ offices this fall in the U.S. as an alternative to the Pap smear. Self-collection tools, similar to a COVID swab, were approved in May by the FDA for use in health care settings; ultimately, companies Roche and BD hope to introduce at-home testing. New York Times
- Driving data. Texas sued General Motors, led by CEO Mary Barra, for allegedly collecting and selling data from over 14 million drivers; Texas says that the detailed data was sold to insurance companies. GM is reviewing the complaint and says it values protecting its users’ privacy. Reuters
- Nonprofit news. Nneka Ogwumike, WNBA player for the Seattle Storm, is taking over More Than a Vote, LeBron James’s nonprofit. The organization, founded in 2020, will be rebranding to focus on reproductive and women’s rights; its previous focus was protecting Black Americans’ voting access. Front Office Sports
- Best of both worlds. Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, is launching Sneex, a sneaker-meets-heel shoe line. “Sneex are my love letter to every woman who has taken her shoes off at a party,” Blakely wrote on the company's website. Blakely has been teasing the new venture on her social platforms and will officially launch the brand next Tuesday. Axios
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CVS Health named Heidi Capozzi as executive vice president, chief people officer. Previously, she was executive vice president and global chief people officer at McDonald’s.
Quad, a marketing solutions company, appointed Courtney Ballantini to senior vice president and head of client experience at Rise. Previously, Ballantini was vice president, marketing, communications and design at Tyson Foods.
Vaniam Group, a healthcare communications company, appointed Binish Khan as senior vice president of digital engagement. Previously, she was vice president, technology at Avalere Health.
Scenic Advisement, a merchant bank, appointed Katie Boord as chief operating officer. Previously, she was senior vice president, customer operations at Fanatics.
WellBiz Brands, a beauty and wellness franchising company, added Prabs Moodley as chief development officer. Most recently, Moodley was head of business development, Americas at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
CLARA Analytics, an AI technology provider for insurance claims optimization, hired Robin Spaulding as chief insurance officer. Most recently, Spaulding was global head of claims for the financial services, insurance practice at Capgemini.
The Starling Trust, a regulatory advisory group, added Lara Warner to its industry and regulatory advisory board. Previously, Warner was risk and compliance chief at Credit Suisse.
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“I’ve had to speak up for myself and nobody was there to speak up for me in so many different rooms that I wasn’t ‘supposed’ to be in.”
— Kali Reis, professional boxer and Emmy-nominated actor, on the boxing world being far tougher than Hollywood
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