Who wouldn’t want to walk through the gymnastics world through Jordan Chiles‘ lens? Well, with her memoir, “I’m that girl” out, that possibility just opened up. But it also lets out many secrets that are no longer under wraps. And some of them were particularly harrowing. It may have made many think: What did the gymnast face while navigating her career? Well, the 23-year-old narrated one shocking incident from her first Olympic camp that left her scarred. Here’s what had happened.

Jordan Chiles made her Olympic debut in Tokyo. Thus, it’s a given that her first Olympic camp may have happened around the same time. However, when she appeared on the “Casuals with Katie Nolan” podcast recently, she was questioned about a particular instance mentioned in her memoir.

The host asked Chiles: “And I think it came to a point, was it your first trip to Olympic camp when you had to share a room with your coach and they cut your hair off? That’s an incredibly invasive thing to do to you at a moment in your life when you’re already nervous and everything’s changing and there’s a lot riding on this moment. I, how, how, how do you process that at that age?”

Well, yes. This happened with Chiles. Her braids were cut off because she had to look like the other athletes. She was just 12 then, and her coach felt her freshly braided hair wasn’t giving that “elite international look.” So she took her into the bathroom and chopped off her hair. But how did she manage to pick herself back up after that setback?

Jordan Chiles admitted she initially felt this was a part of the sport. Both the gymnast and her parents were so unfamiliar with the sport that they could not decipher the rights and wrongs. However, Gina Chiles hinted this had gone too far. Chiles wrote, “That went to an extent like, you cut my hair because it wasn’t the proper way an athlete should look.” And that, to her, didn’t feel right. 

On that podcast, she explained, “I was verbally abused. I was very devastated in a lot of ways. But it was all, I was always told, it’s just the sport. It’s just the sport.” But now, she understands how the sport was different back then. Jordan Chiles’ words hinted that vulnerable little Chiles wanted to have a mentor, a coach, but ended up getting torn down by them.

So yes, when Chiles looks back today, she feels like she survived a ‘crazy era.’ 

But this isn’t the first instance of this sort. In 2024, Chiles spoke to POPSUGAR about how her ex-coach’s behavior with her would trouble her emotionally.

“She called me fat, she said I looked like a doughnut, to the littlest things of people asking me, ‘Oh, you’re eating this today?’ And it’s like, ‘Well, I’m not eating because you just triggered my brain.’” Of course, comments like these will take a toll on any athlete’s self-esteem. And Jordan Chiles was no exception. It obviously triggers us if people body shame us if we lean to the heavier side.

However, even as recently as 2024, the athletes faced racial hatred after the Paris Olympics bronze medal controversy. And you’d be surprised to know it wasn’t just the former coaches or fans, but even the gymnastics veterans, like judges, who made her go through a similar turmoil.

Jordan Chiles remembers being scored differently

In her book, Jordan Chiles recalled facing unfair treatment as a gymnast due to her skin color. Most gymnasts face this issue in their careers, and it’s the latest story to come out in the open from a gymnast.

“Everything was different,” said Chiles. “[Judges] didn’t know what to do with [me] because it was like, ‘She’s talented, yes, but she’s curvy,’ or people would tell me that I ‘look like a man’ or ‘you shouldn’t be here’ or ‘you don’t deserve to be in the sport.”

No rule states that a gymnast should keep her body within the required measurements. If you’re flexible, you win gold medals. All you need is grace and the ability to perform flips and land perfectly. It’s not rocket science. It’s gymnastics!

All this because she looked distinct from the other gymnasts. Even after performing the same routine, she’d receive a different score. All these instances made her question her ability to become a typical athlete. Now, this horrific incident has come to light.

What do you think about the behind-the-scenes treatment Jordan Chiles faced through the years? Let us know in the comments below!