How Did Jordan Chiles’ Aunt Pass Away? Hard Times That the Gymnastics Star Faced After Her Death

The proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ is often quoted, and it fits perfectly for Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles‘s gymnastics journey. Like many other gymnasts including the world superstar Simone Biles, Chiles’s champion moments seen on the media and the international stage were accompanied by an abundance of doubts, injuries, and personal struggles. Despite how much she enjoyed training at her birthplace in Vancouver, Washington’s Naydenov Gymnastics, she felt the need to step out to seek a spot on the Olympic team.

Taking the big leap of faith, Chiles hopped on a plane and moved to Spring, Texas, where she trained alongside Biles at the World Champions Center. Her aunt and other close relatives helped her settle there. A while back, overwhelmed with guilt as her aunt passed away, Chiles opened up about her feelings.

Jordan Chiles has a deep-rooted remorse…

In March 2023, the gymnast announced that she would leave UCLA after the college season. Why? She wanted to return to Spring to prepare for the Olympics. Up until then, she was competing merely to honor her ailing aunt. But the day she was supposed to compete at the Pac-12 Championships, her aunt had been hospitalized.

Thus, Chiles quickly flew home to be with her aunt, and a few days later, on March 23, 2023, her aunt passed away. It wasn’t until in a podcast episode hosted by Taylor Lautner and Taylor Dome on the YouTube channel ‘The Squeeze’ in January 2024, that anyone knew what Jordan has buried within.

When asked, “If you could go back to one moment in your life, what would that moment be?” Holding back her tears, Jordan Chiles, 23, replied, “Would be to when my aunt was alive and apologize for a lot of things that I wish I would have been able to say before she passed.” Chiles’ aunt – Crystal Oliver left a big hole in Chiles’ life that she found hard to recover from. The family did not reveal the reason behind Oliver’s death.

After this emotional time, Chiles made it back to her UCLA team, who pepped her spirits right back up and she gave it her all in the NCAA regionals. She led UCLA to the national championships reeling under the heartbreak. She never gave up in the face of adversity, as she was even affectionately nicknamed Shero by Oliver. Post her aunt’s death, she still gave it her all at the US Classics and the US Nationals with full fervor.

But a few months later, she faced another major loss. Her grandfather was no more. A major factor in Jordan’s ambition to become a gymnast was the Chiles family. Jordan hails from a traditional home; her father, Timothy Chiles, is a senior pastor at the Word Worship Center in Vancouver, Washington. Gina Chiles, her mother, serves as the church’s senior pastor as well. When Jordan was seven years old, Timothy took her to the gymnastics gym, and that’s where her journey began.

Unfortunately, the death of Jordan’s grandfather, Gene Velasquez, last fall on the eve of Thanksgiving in 2023 challenged Jordan’s resilience once again. He would give her confidence in overcoming difficulties and reassure her that no matter what she faced, it would eventually pass. Simone Biles also struggled during the 2020–21 Tokyo Olympics to cope with her aunt’s death and the pressure to perform well.

How Jordan Chiles coped with the loss of her grandfather…

Her grandfather was seriously ill and admitted to the hospital. She took to Instagram to announce, “Although I spent my thanksgiving at the Macy’s thanksgiving parade and now in the hospital for my grandpa… I just wanted to say I’m thankful for all my friends and family members. I hope everyone had an amazing thanksgiving and if everyone can keep my family in prayers as well I would appreciate that. Love Jo.”

But Nov 26, 2023, was a sad day. Her grandpa couldn’t make it. “I feel like this is all just a dream… but it’s not. I can’t believe you’re gone, Grandpa. I love you so much,” she expressed on social media. However, his memories continue to live with her. She even has his phrase tattooed on her arm- ‘Where you are I have been, Where I am, You will be.’

Her grandpa wouldn’t travel to see Chiles compete. He was scared he would make her nervous. Hence, he would frantically read every article written about her to keep himself updated.

“My favorite thing about him is that he was somebody that whenever times were hard, he knew how to lift you up,” Chiles once said.

This also reminds us of how Simone Biles struggled with a similar personal loss. During the 2020-21 Tokyo Olympics, Biles was secretly grieving the loss of her dearest family member. The four-time Olympic gold medalist who withdrew from many Olympic final events told the reporters the heartbreaking news that her aunt, her father’s sister, had unexpectedly passed away.

Cecile Canqueteau-Landi, Biles’ personal Olympics coach and a former WCC coach, later confirmed the devastating news. Following two prosperous NCAA gymnastics seasons with the UCLA Bruins, Jordan is now concentrating on leading the five-woman team to Paris. As the Summer Olympics is drawing near, for Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles, the Core Hydration Classic serves as the first leg of the qualification process.