Jordan Chiles exclusive: USA's team world champion on how she figured out her 'path' ahead of Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Watching U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles compete during her sophomore year at the University of California at Los Angeles, one thing was pretty hard to miss: her joy.

The 22-year-old danced, played with the crowd and cheered on her fellow gymnasts all the way to NCAA titles on the uneven bars and floor exercise in April.

Chiles was having so much fun and felt such a tightknit connection to her Bruin teammates that when it came time to leave Los Angeles and return to her Houston, Texas, training base to start focusing on next year’s 2024 Olympic Games in Paris – something she’d made clear was her intent in March - she started to have second thoughts.

“[I was] kind of just trying to figure out where this path is going to take to me,” Chiles reflected of the time since the NCAA Championships during an exclusive interview with Olympics.com. “I just really wanted to take time to myself to make sure I was ready and mentally prepared going into this next cycle of my life.”

The opportunities that come with an Olympic medal, Chiles’ exuberant personality and relaxed NCAA name, image and likeness rules, have opened a door of possibility for the Olympic silver medallist, world and NCAA champion.

But it was ultimately the relationships she’s formed during her two years at UCLA that gave her pause.

“There was a lot of things that was going through my brain. At first, I was like, 'Do I want to do this? Do I not.' Only because I'd such an amazing NCAA season, I didn't want to leave my team. I didn't want to leave something behind that maybe I could have kept with me,” explained Chiles. But at the same time, you know, I had a lot of people telling me, like, 'You got this.' Like, 'Go for it.' Even [UCLA head coach] Janelle [McDonald] was telling me, she's like, 'No, you got this. We're going to be cheering you on. Your team is always going to be here.'”

Her focus turned solidly toward Paris 2024 after a vacation to Hawaii with fellow UCLA Bruins gymnasts Norah Flatley, Margzetta Frazier and Sekai Wright.

“That vacation gave me a lot of perspective, knowing, okay, look, yes, they’re going to be there. Yes, they’re always going to support me,” said Chiles, “but it’s ok if you navigate yourself to a totally different direction.”

Ramping up ahead of US World Trials

As Chiles deliberated, it gave her a chance for something rare: a training break.

The Seattle-area native has been on the go for nearly three years straight, having participated in the Olympic season, a cross-country post-Games arena tour, the 2022 NCAA and elite seasons, and the 2023 NCAA season.

“I think it's more of me just always going, and I always have to do something,” Chiles said of her non-stop schedule. “So, with my sport if I can do that, then I kind of just am going to do that.”

She was still on the go, mind you, taking care of the other parts of her job as a professional athlete, including signing a deal with Nike.

Things started to slow down after she attended the marriage of friend and training partner Simone Biles, the seven-time Olympic medallist who has returned to the sport this season after two years away, in May.

Chiles struggled to pin down when exactly she returned to full-time training, but coach Laurent Landi told media at the recent U.S. Championships that, “we’ve only been coaching her for the past five weeks.”

She went all in.

“I kind of, you know, went into the gym. I was like, ‘Look, I know that's going to be the toughest time of my life to get everything back,’ but I also like to challenge myself. So, throughout the practices I was getting frustrated, but at the same time I was like, ‘Look, you haven't done anything and it's okay.’ I just focus on what I've already done and what I've already accomplished so I can get through my practices,” Chiles said of her first days back in the gym. “I was sore for the first week-and-a-half, two weeks of being there.”

She had an up-and-down showing at the U.S. Classic in early August, finishing fourth on the uneven bars but just 13th on the balance beam.

Despite just a week-and-a-half turn around from the Classic to the U.S. nationals, Chiles finished fifth overall.

Both Landi and Chiles expect much improvement ahead of the U.S. World Championships selection event (19-20 September).

“This is, I want to say, my fifth time doing a World selection camp,” said Chiles, “I’m really excited, really happy that there’s more opportunities.”

Jordan Chiles on Paris 2024: I feel more confident

Chiles first made a splash on the U.S. gymnastics scene a decade ago, when she won the all-around as a junior at the 2013 American Classic.

Ten years later, she’s a veteran of the U.S. program, helping the squad to a silver medal at Tokyo 2020 and a historic sixth straight victory at last year’s World Championships.

Through it all, she’s grown and gained perspective.

“Obviously from my first elite competition, I didn’t know anything,” reflected Chiles with a laugh. “But now going into my 150th competition that I’ve done, I’m a little more experienced, and I understand what the tactics are for everything. I just feel more confident for sure. I feel grateful that I have the people around me that I have, especially my coaches. They changed the light of game for me within the sport. I feel more confident. I feel loved, I feel supported.”

All that’s given her a certain kind of freedom as she dreams of a return trip to the Games next summer at Paris 2024.

“I’m thinking of less pressure because I’m like, “I’ve done it once. I can do it again,’” said Chiles. “I’m really just going out this next cycle just for myself. I’m not going to be disappointed with what happens because I know I’ve done everything that I’ve done and I’ve already done it before. So, I’m just excited.”