If resilience had a face, it’d be Jordan Chiles. Picture this: you’ve poured your heart, sweat, and soul into gymnastics, and it all pays off on the world’s biggest stage—the Olympics. You win a bronze medal, the crowd cheers, and your heart is bursting with pride. But then, out of nowhere, the dark clouds roll in. That bronze medal? Gone, stripped away. Most people would crumble, right? Not Jordan. She took a moment to step back, catch her breath, and then made a bold decision: she wasn’t done yet.

Chiles announced her return to the mats as a star member of UCLA’s gymnastics team. And instead of letting the pain linger, she chose to start fresh. So, she is celebrating the new year with joy, her team, and medals. Interesting! So, what did she exactly do?

Chiles shines brighter than ever

FYI, Jordan Chiles didn’t let losing her Olympic bronze medal stop her from shining brighter than ever. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she and her dream team—Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera, and Jade Carey—dominated the team all around, bringing home gold. And to celebrate 2025, the year’s big wins, Team USA posted a New Year’s Eve Instagram collage. Guess who stood front and center?

Yep, Jordan, proudly holding that gold medal. She was the only gymnast featured in the post, and of course, she re-shared it on her own Instagram story later. She’s not just showing off; her message is clear: this gold is just the beginning. More medals are definitely on her radar! And speaking of what’s next, Jordan’s already got her eyes on the future.

Back in August, she dropped the news that she’s coming back to UCLA to compete for the Bruins in the 2025 NCAA season, which kicks off in January. The season will start with the NCAA Regional competition in Salt Lake City at the Jon M. Huntsman Center from April 2-6, 2025. And guess what? Jordan will be one of three Olympians on the squad, joining Emma Malabuyo and Brooklyn Moors. With that crew, UCLA’s about to take things to the next level, and you can bet Jordan’s already eyeing more medals. But at the same time, she is fighting for her bronze medal too!

The explosive legal battle behind Jordan Chiles’ Olympic medal

Jordan Chiles is straight up in the middle of one of the most dramatic legal battles gymnastics has ever seen. The 23-year-old Olympic star is fighting a decision that dropped her from third to fifth in the women’s floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here’s how it went down: after Chiles’ floor routine, Romania’s Ana Barbosu initially scored higher, but after Chiles coach Cecile Landi from Team USA asked the judges to review the footage, they bumped Chiles up to third. Sounds fair, right?

Well, not so fast; this sparked an absolute uproar, especially from Romanian fans, and suddenly the judging was under intense scrutiny. It didn’t stop there. The CAS, alongside the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), slammed the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the judging panel, saying if there had been a better system in place, all this heartache could’ve been avoided. But despite the madness, the story wasn’t all bad news for Chiles. She still ended up being part of the first-ever all-Black podium in Olympic gymnastics, joining Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade for that historic gold. But just when you thought it was finally settled, bam!

The CAS swoops in again on the last day of the Olympics, saying Chiles’ appeal came in too late by a minute and dropped her back into fifth place. The IOC quickly followed up, demanding she return the medal. But wait, here’s where the plot thickens. Chiles isn’t backing down. Even to this date, Chiles and the U.S. team have no plans of giving that medal back. Her lawyers are out here saying the appeal was actually on time, and they’ve got video proof to back it up.

Oh, and there’s also this pretty crazy twist: the CAS panel president had ties to Romania, which her legal team is pointing out as a possible conflict of interest. Now, Jordan took it to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, trying to get the CAS decision overturned. She’s arguing she didn’t get a fair shot to defend herself and that they ignored key evidence. This controversy is far from over, and you better believe it’s keeping everyone on their toes. Who knows how it’ll end, but Jordan’s fight is just heating up.