Coming into Paris, Jordan Chiles was one of the mainstays for the US women’s gymnastics team besides Simone Biles. Quite expectedly, she justified all the hype around her as Chiles helped her team win the gold Olympic medal in Paris. This was a pleasant transition for Chiles, who had to settle for a silver in Tokyo after witnessing the heartbreaking departure of BFF Simone Biles. 

Despite not being able to secure any more medals, Chiles looked a lot more mature in her routines. Apparently, all the credit for her transforming into a champion gymnast goes to the NCAA. In a recent interaction with Olympics.com on Spotify, Chiles detailed how UCLA had played a major role in crafting the gymnast that she is today. 

As a matter of fact, Chiles and Jade Carey are the only ones who have been switching back and forth from the elite to the NCAA. Speaking about the impact, the Olympic gold medalist stated, “NCAA experience has played a huge part compared to the last quad, obviously… I did a whole another Olympic cycle and just seeing the difference in my maturity as an athlete and also as a human definitely helped. ’cause you know, NCAA is all about high energy. You’re one team, one goal.” Chiles further mentioned that coming back to elite gymnastics, the mindset of not giving up and having a tremendous zeal to succeed helped her shape herself significantly. 

Chiles is so proud of her NCAA experience that she also wishes that her BFF Simone Biles and her other teammates could share a similar experience. After all, while Biles did attend college online, she did not have the opportunity to compete as an NCAA athlete due to her elite commitments. The same was the case for Aly Raisman and Kyla Ross. Speaking of the same, Chiles said, “Now, do I wish everybody could have that experience? A hundred percent. Which, you know, I wish, whether it was Simone, whether it was Aly, Kyla, any of them, I think it was would’ve been really cool to see their point of view as well.”

Imagine a table talk with Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and Kyla Ross swapping stories on balancing NCAA and elite gymnastics. Biles and Raisman both walked the tricky line of choosing between college competition and going pro, with Biles ditching her UCLA dreams for the spotlight and Raisman turning pro with Octagon, giving up her spot at Florida.

Meanwhile, Kyla Ross managed to squeeze every bit out of her NCAA eligibility, making UCLA her playground and racking up honors, including that epic “Gym Slam.” They’d all probably agree: balancing NCAA dreams and elite goals is no small feat—one choice, and you’re fully committed! And justifying her claims, Chiles did enjoy a spectacular run for the UCLA Bruins.

Joining the college in the fall of 2021, Chiles made an immediate impact. Scoring a perfect 10 on floor exercise and winning the all-around title with 39.700 in her kitty, Chiles was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. She also went on to win two gold medals in the uneven bars and floor exercise while securing an all-around silver in 2023.

Meanwhile, as shining tales of success from Jordan Chiles make an upbeat statement, there is a dark cloud of gloom enveloping Chiles. Having secured a bronze medal in the women’s floor category, Chiles was devastated to find out that she was being asked to return her hard-earned medal!

Jordan Chiles keeps her fight for Olympic bronze strong

A bizarre set of incidents unfolded at the women’s floor exercise final in Paris. Right after the last performance, the scoreboard showed Ana Barbosu as the winner of the third place. However, Team USA immediately requested an inquiry that overturned the decision and awarded Jordan Chiles the bronze medal. But the drama was just getting started. After the games were over, the Romanian team took to the Court of Arbitration to file a further complaint. 

Surprisingly, after a careful investigation, the CAS found that Cecile Landi was late in submitting her inquiry. While the stipulated time was 1 minute, Landi was 47 seconds late. This made Chiles’ score void and she was asked to return her Olympic bronze medal. Such a decision did not sit well with the US gymnastics authorities. They immediately appealed against the decision. They even provided video evidence showing Cecile Landi submitting the inquiry on time.

Taking the matter to the court, Jordan Chiles has now appealed to the Swiss Tribunal, the judgment of which awaits. Now, with a lot of things going on with Chiles, it remains to be seen how can she pace her upcoming UCLA season to further evolve as an athlete.