Jordan Chiles relishing collegiate experience: "I'm really happy that I'm able to be part of something so huge"

Jordan Chiles is settling into a new rhythm.

The artistic gymnastics Olympic team silver medallist from Tokyo 2020 is learning to balance the demands from NCAA collegiate competition with her first semester in college at the University of California at Los Angeles.

“I didn't do any school at all. Even through the Olympics, some of the girls were doing school during the Olympics as well,” Chiles said in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com just prior to competing in the NCAA regional championships in Raleigh, North Carolina. “But for me, I was like, I want to focus on everything that I'm doing first before I get my mind back into schooling because it was like three years since I've done school, so I wanted to make sure I was going to be prepared and really focus on what I had to do.”

Though she’s had fun basking in the glow of Olympic success as she attends Super Bowl and Oscar parties, Chiles has found time to focus on enjoying life as a regular college student.

Well, almost.

“Being able to go to any sporting events if it's basketball, football, baseball, track and field, whatever it is, as a student athlete was really fun. I mean, yes, I did have a moment where they put me on the big screen,” she said sheepishly. “But I mean, other than that, that was really cool. And I've always loved being able just to be like, ‘OK, look, I'm a student athlete at my first college basketball game,’ so that's how those have been really fun.”

Women's college gymnastics soars in popularity, competitiveness

Women’s collegiate gymnastics has never been more high-profile than it is now. Chiles presence, along with fellow 2020 Olympians Sunisa Lee, who won all-around gold, Jade Carey, the floor exercise Olympic champion, and Grace McCallum, a member of the silver medal-winning team, proof of the elevated level.

Competition is fierce, evidenced by the fact that Chiles’ Bruins fell short – barely – of qualifying as a full team to the NCAA championships. They finished .025 behind Missouri in Raleigh, missing out as the third-ranked team. Chiles, herself, qualified as an individual to next week’s NCAA championships for the uneven bars and floor exercise.

“I'm really happy that I'm able to be a part of something so huge,” said Chiles. “I think the reason why women's NCAA gymnastics is so huge is because of who we are as individuals and how we inspire others.”

Inspiring others is important to Chiles, whose Olympic fortunes turned nearly on a dime. She had well-documented issues with her coach in her native Washington state before moving across the country to train with Simone Biles and coaches Cecile and Laurent Landi at World Champions Centre in Houston, Texas, in mid-2019.

An extra year of training as the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the Tokyo Games allowed Chiles to regain her love of the sport and put her hone her enviable natural talent.

“My story has already… been shown throughout what I've done in this sport with my skin color, my hair, my coach situations and all that stuff,” said Chiles, “so being able to be an inspiration but also teaching the younger generation like it's OK to speak up, it's OK that you may not look like everybody else and it's OK for you to do something that you love.

“I literally say this to everybody: ‘always believe in the power of your dreams because your dreams are very powerful,’” she continued. “It doesn't matter if people tell you otherwise. Just know that for yourself.”

Jordan Chiles: A return to elite

Chiles has a few more dreams herself, specifically in elite gymnastics.

The 20-year-old says she will return to elite competition later this year and make a run at the U.S. team for the 2022 World Championships. Chiles has never competed in a world championships, but did serve as an alternate to the 2017 team.

She’s taking a decision day by day, and week by week on training for another trip to the Olympic Games for Paris 2024, but says she likes the idea of the challenge and wants to see how far she can push her level after a disappointing qualifying round in Tokyo.

“During qualifications, obviously… I didn't have the best meet of my life and the reason why Paris came up is because I barely hit my peak. I knew that at that point, I was like, ‘OK, so if this is me not really at my peak, what can I do more?’” she explained. “So I was like, ‘You know what? I don't mind trying for another Olympics. I don't mind pushing myself to that limit because I like challenges.’ I knew at that moment, ‘OK, this is my challenge,’ and this is something that I'm looking forward to.”