“I felt like I was really left in the dark,” lamented Jordan Chiles on September 11, after what can only be described as the lowest point of her life. As she stood on the podium on August 5 with her first individual Olympic medal—a bronze in the Women’s Floor Exercise at Paris—amid the glittering lights at Bercy Arena, the whole world turned into her spectator. Barely five days later, the world tuned in again—this time to witness an unprecedented downfall…

On August 10, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled: “The initial score of 13.666 given to Ms Jordan Chiles in the final of the women’s Floor exercise shall be reinstated.” In simple words, Chiles would lose her medal to Romania’s Ana Bărbosu. The first decision of its kind, the ruling was amply resisted by the USAG, who didn’t leave any stones unturned to preserve their nation’s glory. Chiles, on the other hand, was reliving the horror she endured in 2018. “I felt like when I was back in 2018, where I did lose the love of this sport. I lost it again. I felt like I was really left in the dark,” she confessed in September this year.

Going through relentless “emotional and verbal abuse” from a former coach, the young athlete was reduced to a shadow of her former self. Chiles was no longer the excited kid whose eyes would sparkle at the thought of going to the gym. Instead, she’d avoid practice like the plague and spend her time at the mall. Barely 17 at the time, the gymnast was almost at the verge of giving up on the dreams she harbored since age six, if not for her parents, and fellow athlete, Simone Biles.

The gymnast’s mother Gina Chiles opened up about this heartbreaking ordeal in Episode 7 of the Got It From My Momma podcast on October 3. “In 2018, Jordan was facing on her own, like, we didn’t know Jordan wasn’t really going to gym ’cause she’s old enough to drive herself, you know, all of those things. We didn’t know she wasn’t spending as much time in the gym as she normally did. She was going to the mall and kicking it and doing different things. So we didn’t know that she was separating herself from gymnastics because Jordan couldn’t really see gymnastics without seeing the hurt and the emotional pain that she experienced over several years.” And that’s exactly when Biles became the helping hand that would pull her out of the slump…

When Chiles finished 11th in the all-around nationals in 2018, she finally decided to give up. However, a chance encounter with the 11-time Olympic medalist—they were roommates during the 2018 World Championship team trials—changed the trajectory of her career. Simone proposed Jordan join her at her gym in Texas under Cecile and Laurent Landi. Once she traversed some 1800 miles to end up in World Champions Centre…“Simone saw things in her that, you know, that she felt her coaching staff being in that type of gym around other elite gymnasts because Jordan was the only one in the entire region at that time. So, so, you know, being the only one training to that level was, was hard,” Gina revealed. 

For the unversed: Biles had been a part of Naydenov Gymnastics in her hometown of Vancouver, Washington since 2007. However, having teamed up with an unnamed coach, things started going downhill. “So I had a coach verbally abusing me…She called me fat. She said I looked like a donut,” the 23-year-old Olympian had revealed in a conversation with TODAY in November 2021. However, the contrasting change in her tone revealed how a good decision was taken at the right time. 

“I discovered that gymnastics doesn’t always have to be about strictness and being so hard on yourself and having so much doubt…I actually realized this when I saw Simone compete. She looks like she’s having fun out there, laughing and giggling, and doesn’t look stressed or tired. I was like, ‘You know, I’m going to try that one of these days and see how it turns out’,” she said. And even Chiles’ mother agrees. But before we get to that…

Update: As per a recent development in Chiles’ ongoing bronze controversy, USAG’s legal team announced on September 16 that the gymnast has appealed to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland to overturn the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling.

Now per her mother on the podcast, “It was exactly the right move. There’s not a person that’s gonna argue that Simone is the greatest of all time and having that to shoot for it, it just made Jordan better. And, and I like to say that Jordan sharpened Simone because, you know, Jordan is competitive, so she’ll push…It was a healthy environment. So feeling comfortable with what was happening and seeing coaches that advocate for you and, and new friends and you know, a, a great training environment. It was so beautiful to watch Jordan go and you could see it happen immediately.”

But that wasn’t the only moment when Chiles understood that her colleague really cared for her. 

Simone Biles is always a hand’s reach away from Jordan Chiles

Jordan and Simone have had some of their best moments while representing the Stars and Stripes together at international events. The duo were part of both the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games and helped their squad win medals at both these tournaments. Even as Chiles’ life was going through unnerving times, Biles remained firm at the former’s side seeking justice for her bestie. Simone’s “Justice for Jordan” chants have not gone unnoticed and it looks like Simone is doing everything in her power to help the other find her peace.

Understandably, Chiles’ admiration of the GOAT isn’t misplaced. “I think that definitely defines who she is as a person she’s an outgoing understanding, encouraging friend also a big sister so she definitely is a definition of you know defining who she is,” Chiles was heard saying about Simone in a YouTube upload from a couple of months ago.

However, Gina didn’t forget the fans who also stood by her daughter during the IOC-CAS fiasco. Just days ago she thanked Jordan’s fans for their vigilant support and assured them that the gymnast is on her way to bouncing back from the setback. Currently, Chiles is on the road with her gym BFF as they bring Gold Over America Tour magic to the fans. The pop-styled gymnastics show will hit Baltimore, Maryland, on October 8, and Charlotte, North Carolina, just a day later. Will you catch the enigmatic Chiles-Biles duo at any of these shows? Tell us your expectations with a comment.