Often, when athletes leave their collegiate mats for the Olympic season, they either go on to win. Or they come back with heartbreak. In the peculiar case of Jordan Chiles, she was left with uncertainty despite having earned the bronze. After a barrage of appeals and evidence, it was decided that Ana Barbosu would be awarded bronze. This did not just take the medal away but also put Chiles’ scores at what they were pre-appeal! Now, leaving the drama of the Olympics behind, Chiles has decided to return to her college.

Chiles has joined her UCLA Bruins team. And has already started performing at the NCAA faceoffs! In fact, she even got a perfect 10 when the Bruins went up against Maryland. Meanwhile, Barbosu has decided to move to the USA for her college. “Since I sent the application to Stanford, I have been quite stressed because I really wanted to be accepted. I was extremely happy when I received the affirmative answer,” said Barbosu recently. As the news hit the media, the spirals of speculation began!

As Jordan Chiles’ Olympic rival joins the Cardinals, will she compete with Team USA?

All kinds of speculation have been in the air, but there is one that hits home. There are those who are questioning Ana Barbosu’s allegiance to Romania! Since she is competing for the Cardinals, could she be thinking of being a part of Team USA instead of competing against them? It looks like Barbosu might be stuck in a catch-22 of loyalties!

However, the catch-22 is only to the world! Barbosu is clear about where she wants to go. As Barbosu herself puts it, “I don’t think there’s any way I could compete for the American team, nor is there this desire in the first place.” Oops! Evidently, Barbosu will not be donning the red, white, and blue any time soon. But why is that? Usually, it is a natural progression for most athletes.

But not for Ana Barbosu, who went on to explain, “It’s also about nationality; I’m Romanian from both parents.” Barbosu stepped on the mats at the age of three. Since then, she has trained in Romania. And her parents? Barbosu’s father runs a construction company. Meanwhile, Barbosu’s mother teaches Romanian at a local grammar school in Focșani. Ana Barbosu went so far as to call donning the reds and blues simply “impossible.” But that’s not all!

Her coach also had something to add as well. Barbosu’s coach, Corina Morosan, went on to say, “No, Romania definitely doesn’t lose Ana. If you ask me, Ana may come back ten times stronger from there because of a university championship.” So this means Barbosu will be seen on the NCCA mats. Does this mean a chance at a rematch for Jordan Chiles?

So will Chiles and Barbosu go head-to-head this NCAA season?

Jordan Chiles has been nailing the perfect flips on the NCAA mats. As the UCLA Bruins went up against Maryland, Chiles was the star of the show. She went on to get a perfect 10 on the uneven bars. Then went on to score 9.950 in the floor exercise and, despite fumbling on the vault, scored 9.200. To add on, she got an all-around win with 39.500 points. It would be perfect if Chiles could go up against Barbosu in this form, right?

Unfortunately, that dream is not coming true this season. Ana Barbosu will be putting on the Cardinals leotard only from the 2026 season. While the showdown would be one for the books, Barbosu and her coach Morosan seem to be focused on the bigger picture. As Morosan sees it, “The fact that she will have to compete every week, I think, can be a good thing.” Despite the faith, precautions have been taken to not lose Ana.

As Corina Morosan puts it, “I had a discussion with the coaches there, and they said that they will try to balance (university championships and international ones) it in such a way that she can also be able to prepare for her international program with which she will represent Romania.” While Ana Barbosu preps to come in the 2026 season, Jordan Chiles will be looking at her senior year at UCLA. That simply means there might just be a chance to watch the sage unfold.