Jordan Chiles has had an absolutely crazy year as a gymnast. She was selected to go to the Paris Olympics, where she won a gold medal in the team competition. However, she was also involved in a huge controversy in the floor exercise after she was stripped of her bronze medal, which was given to her after an appeal on the difficulty of the challenge. But this appeal was later dismissed as the IOC declared that it was not made in time.

This situation followed a period of sadness for her, where she had to step away from social media too. But now the gymnast is back for redemption in different colors. She has returned to her college at UCLA Bruins and is all set to resume her NCAA career. As a gymnast who now has a lot of experience, she is not shying away from sharing it with her younger teammates.

In a video uploaded by ‘b1ggymnastics’ on their Instagram, Jordan Chiles can be seen imparting her wisdom to her UCLA Bruins teammates. The Olympic gold medalist told them that she believed that they should have fun while they’re competing in the sport. There was a time when her schedule was heavily strict, but Jordan was slowly losing her love for gymnastics back then.

She then realized that it was very important for her to have fun and be ambitious about her goals. This was what she was also sharing with her teammates. “I wouldn’t be the two-time Olympian that I am today if it wasn’t for me realizing that this sport has more to it than just being, you know, gymnastics. So, you’ll get there, but yes, I can bring it out of you, but you also have to want the ability to do that. Because I do get it.”

Jordan Chiles then talked about how one should enjoy their freshman year in the sport as it gives them a chance to wear the esteemed jersey of the team. Thus, the gymnasts should just block the noise coming from outside, which includes online trolling, and concentrate solely on the sport, as this is what they have come for.

“You want to embrace that and just say, Who cares what other people say? Like, who cares what people are saying about, you know, oh, the team this, da, da, da, all this stuff. Like, are they the ones doing what you’re doing?” She added, “You know what I mean? Like, that’s how I see it. Like, are they the ones on the apparatus? Are they the ones, you know? No, they’re just sitting there watching us because they wish they could be us. So, why not show them? Okay, if you wish you could beat me, I’m going to give you a little more so you can entertain them. So, that’s my thing.”

Thus, the gymnast was very serious about her mentorship of the young gymnasts. She wants to help them be a better gymnast by learning from the experience she has garnered while competing and training with top gymnasts like Simone Biles. Only then will the team rise to another level. This shows how serious Jordan is about the NCAA.

Jordan Chiles opens up about returning to UCLA after Olympic success

Jordan Chiles made the interesting decision of returning to the UCLA Bruins in the NCAA after the Olympics instead of solely concentrating on her elite career. In an interview with USA Today Sports, she gave slightly more insight into her decision. The gymnast had always felt a connection with her college, which she wasn’t ready to abandon just yet. “UCLA does give you a different effect.” This was expected coming from her, as Jordan’s two seasons in college brought numerous titles to her in the floor and uneven bar categories.

The gymnast was very much loved by the fans of the team, who treated her as their own. Thus, it was natural that amidst the highly publicized bronze medal controversy, the gymnast would return to something that was so familiar to her and in the place where she was shown so much love. This is why she returned to complete her last two eligible years.

For now, she is enjoying every bit of it, as she has claimed that her teammates are very talented. “On the outside looking in, because I didn’t really do that much except for the floor, I definitely can say everybody looked really happy. Everybody looked, you know, nice and present when it was needed, cheering each other on. So, I’m really, really proud of them for that,” she said. Thus, she has already grown fond of the group. Hopefully, she can bring her wisdom from the elite competitions and help the team become even better at gymnastics.