“She fell off her scooter in the rain and hurt her tailbone this week. So she is feeling it on every event. Running on vault and floor passes and especially when she hit it on the dive roll. She’s ok—just hurts.” Gina Chiles posted on X when Jordan Chiles was battling discomfort, struggling through landings, and even sitting out UCLA’s final rotation against Utah. The injury had sparked questions, could she shake this off in time for the postseason?  Fast forward to March 21, and Jordan had her answer. But instead of words, she let her gymnastics do the talking. And when Gina took to Instagram with just four words, the message was loud and clear. But what was it?

There she was, in a reel shared by UCLA Gymnastics, which had Chiles sprinting down the runway, power radiating from every stride. She explodes off the vaulting table, twisting high into the air, one or two rotations, before spotting the landing and stomping it down with authority. No hesitation. There were no signs of the injury that had everyone worried. Just a perfectly executed Yurchenko double full, which is also abbreviated as DTY. And then? The moment that said it all. As soon as she landed, her face lit up. She turned to her teammates and met them with a flurry of high-fives. The energy was electric. The message? She was back!

The UCLA Gymnastics captioned it, “That girl @jordanchiles sticking her double-twisting Yurchenko vault at @b1ggymnastics Championships podium training. (spark emoji) #GoBruins.” And her biggest cheerleader and mother, Gina Chiles, made sure the world took notice. She kept it simple, posting just four words on Instagram: “I’ve missed you DTY (clap emoji).” Just a week ago, Chiles was battling discomfort, her body betraying her. Now? She looked locked in.

That’s a huge boost for UCLA ahead of their first-ever Big Ten Championships. Because when Jordan Chiles is at her best, the Bruins know they have a game-changer. She’s already proven it. On February 1, after scoring her second perfect 10 of the season—despite battling a high fever—she said, “I was just like, you know what? I’ma  forget that in the past. I’m here on the team. We’re gonna go out there and do everything that we need to do.” And she’s doing exactly that.

Now, the stage is set. Big Ten regular-season champion UCLA (13-3, 9-0 in Big Ten) is ready to compete in the Big Ten Championships for the first time. The top-seeded Bruins will take the floor on March 22 at 5 p.m. ET at Michigan’s Crisler Center, facing off against Michigan State, Minnesota, and Michigan in the final session.

Chiles might be back to her best, but against Utah, things looked different, and Chiles grimaced through her routines, her body visibly betraying her.

Jordan Chiles visibly showed discomfort against Utah

Last Saturday night’s UCLA-Utah showdown had all the makings of a classic until Jordan Chiles’ floor routine took a turn no one saw coming. Chiles looked uncharacteristically off. A stumbled dive roll? A short landing? Fans were stunned. Assistant Sports Editor for Daily Bruin Aaron Doyle put it bluntly on X: “Some uncharacteristic mistakes from Jordan Chiles on floor, stumbling out her dive roll (probably the easiest skill in her routine) and then landing short on her final tumbling pass..” But why?

Rewind a bit. Even before her routine, there were signs. Deseret sports writer Trent Wood noted Chiles was already in visible discomfort during warmups. She limped to the tunnel, stepping away briefly before returning. Then, the performance unfolded, with an under-rotated vault, a hop on landing, and that stumble on the floor. A rare sight for someone who has been near flawless this season.

Then came the real revelation. Chiles’ mother, Gina, cleared the air online and talked about her fall from the scooter.  Suddenly, everything made sense. Every vault run, every tumbling pass, pain followed. But even in visible discomfort, Chiles still put up a 9.925 on Vault but she was absent from the balance beam lineup in rotation four

Fast forward to now, and Chiles has shaken off the setback and looks like she is back to her dominant self.  Can they take home the title? With Chiles leading the charge, they just might.