After her drama-filled Olympics journey, Jordan Chiles is back in action. In Paris, Chiles helped Team USA to reclaim their position at the top of the podium and bagged her first Olympic gold in the process. She also initially clinched a bronze medal in the floor exercise, but since then, that win has been subject to appeals and court dates. But for Chiles, collegiate gymnastics is proving to be a welcome distraction and she has made her return to the NCAA in style, helping UCLA create history.

On Saturday, Chiles led UCLA to a 197.550-194.850 win over Maryland at the XFINITY Center. Chiles kicked off things with a perfect 10 on uneven bars setting the Bruins on their way to tying their highest team total this year. Chiles also won the all-around in her first all-around turn of the year, scoring 39.500. Yet despite, the presence of an Olympic gold medalist, the attendance for the showdown was underwhelming.

The meet drew a record-breaking crowd of 7,287 fans at the XFINITY Center — more than triple the previous program attendance record of 2,207. However, given the fact that the arena holds nearly 18,000 spectators, this was a less-than-impressive number, especially given that a name like Chiles was competing. Now, ahead of UCLA’s home opener in Westwood next weekend, Chiles made an appeal to the fans.

Taking to her Instagram, she posted a preview of her floor routine from the meet and captioned it as, “Hello everyone, this is a PSA—please come and attend our home meet this Saturday the 25th at Pauley at 2 pm. @uclagymnastics would love all the support and want to give you guys an amazing show!! So come!!!” Pauley Pavilion in Westwood Los Angeles, has a seating capacity of 13,800 and it will be some spectacle if it is close to full capacity for UCLA’s home debut.

While the 7,287 fans at the XFINITY Center may not sound like a bad number at first, it pales in comparison to the attendance at other arenas. The LSU Tigers welcomed 12,324 fans inside the PMAC for their season-opening win over the Iowa State Cyclones on January 3rd.  The Georgia GymDogs defeated Boise State 196.825-193.600 on Friday in front of 10,224 fans at Stegeman Coliseum.

In January 2023, the Bruins’ season opener against Oregon State at Pauley Pavilion saw a crowd of nearly 8,000, an attendance record for a UCLA gymnastics home opener. However, next year, the same venue saw only 6,043 in attendance for UCLA’s win over Washington.

Against Maryland Jordan’s flawless performance was a highlight. Her perfect score was the first 10 on bars in the NCAA this season and marked her fifth career 10 on the event. The moment was particularly special, as it marked UCLA’s first-ever conference victory as a member of the Big Ten. “My high was my 10 on bars. Being in the Big Ten for the very first time and doing that for our school is definitely an honor,” she shared afterward.

The Bruins had a slow start on bars after recording three scores of 9.800 or lower, but Chiles started the rotation with a perfect 10 and stuck her full-twisting double-back dismount. Frida Esparza, a graduate student was the only other gymnast from UCLA to contribute at least a 9.900 score to the Bruins’ 49.325 bars total.

Following the win, Chiles also shared her ambitions for the season. “There’s unfinished business in everything that I do. I want an all-around title and an NCAA title as a team.” 

In her 2025 NCAA season debut at the American Gold Classic, she won the title on vault with a score of 9.9+. Then at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, she impressed further. She scored a 9.975 on the floor while putting up 9.925 on the vault before wrapping the night with a 9.850 on the uneven bars.

As she continues her amazing start to the NCAA season, her fight for the Paris Olympics bronze medal is still going on.

Jordan Chiles’ fight for bronze medal is

Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal in the women’s floor exercise at the Paris 2024 Olympics was controversially stripped. This was after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against her. Initially, Chiles was awarded the medal after an appeal by her coach, Cecile Landi. This resulted in a 0.1 difficulty score increase.

This move bumped her up from fifth to third, passing Romania’s Sabrina Voinea and Ana Barbosu. However, following a challenge from Romanian officials, CAS decided that Landi’s appeal was submitted four seconds after the 60-second time limit. As a result, they reverted her score and awarded the bronze to Barbosu.

Chiles and her legal team are now fighting back with an appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. They argue that CAS didn’t consider video evidence showing her inquiry was on time and that the ruling was unfair. They also pointed out a conflict of interest with the CAS panel president, who had ties to Romania. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee are fully supporting Chiles in her legal battle.