Jordan Chiles: "I was like, 'I don't think my grandpa would want me to quit right now.'" - Exclusive
No one could have blamed Jordan Chiles if she wasn’t at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
The U.S. gymnast with the larger-than-life personality had been to Tokyo three years ago, a major contributor to the team silver medal. She’d had stepped in on the uneven bars when her training partner Simone Biles unexpectedly withdrew from the women’s team final.
Back in the States, Chiles, a Seattle-area native, had moved from her training-base in Houston to Los Angeles, a standout member of the University of California at Los Angeles’ (UCLA) women’s gymnastics team.
Her 2022 and 2023 seasons had netted a NCAA titles on the uneven bars and floor exercise. Chiles had even represented Team USA concurrently at the 2022 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, soaring to team gold and vault and floor silvers.
But when it came time to turn her attention fully to Paris, she struggled.
Chiles said she wasn’t sure she wanted to leave her UCLA teammates with whom she’d grown so close.
Then, tragedy struck her and her family as both her aunt and grandfather passed away in 2023.
That was a turning point, says Chiles.
“The moment that I truly dug deep into my thoughts of being like, ‘Okay, Jordan, what are you doing?’ I would probably say after Pan Ams,” she told Olympics.com days after helping the U.S. squad to its fourth-ever Olympic team title. “I was like, ‘What are you doing? You came out to Pan Ams, had no training, didn’t really do that well all year and you’re still on podiums, doing everything that you’re doing.’
“When I came back, after losing my grandpa,” continued Chiles, “I was like, ‘I don’t think my grandpa would want me to quit right now. He would be very disappointed in me if I was just like, you know what, I’m done.’
“With having him in my mind, in my heart, and even my aunt, I was like, you know what, I’m just going to continue my dream and continue to push as hard as I can.”
The last eight months have been instructive for the 23-year-old, whose learned she’s tougher than she ever imagined.
“It’s taught me that as many things that have been thrown at me in life that God created me to be the strongest person that I needed to be,” said Chiles, holding back tears.
The reality of that perseverance, a dream come true in Tuesday’s (30 July) team final.
“It still hasn’t sunk in yet,” she told us. “I think the biggest thing now is just realizing how much I’ve gone through just to get this gold medal round my neck. I couldn’t be more proud of myself.”