Latest news with #Chiles'
USA Today
10-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jordan Chiles medal saga: Olympic gymnastics bronze still in limbo a year later
One year later, the fate of Jordan Chiles' bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics remains in limbo. Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the controversial ruling handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which effectively lowered Chiles' score in the floor exercise final and bumped her off the medal podium. The ruling drew swift backlash from Team USA, prompted the international gymnastics federation to revise its rules and has sparked an ongoing legal battle at one of the highest levels of the international justice system. Chiles' multi-pronged appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal remains pending, and it is unclear when the court — which is the top judicial authority in Switzerland — will render a decision. But as Chiles waits, here's an update on the state of the case, the key players involved and what could happen next. What started all of this? Jordan Chiles was forced into this protracted fight for her medal through no fault of her own. Chiles initially finished fifth in the floor exercise final, her score of 13.666 putting her behind Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voineau. (Barbosu and Maneca-Voineau had identical scores of 13.7, but Barbosu's higher execution score gave her the tiebreak.) Chiles' coach Cecile Landi appealed, arguing Chiles had not been given full credit for a tour jete, a leap. A review panel agreed, and the 0.100 that was added to her score put the American on the podium ahead of the Romanians. The Romanians appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, finally settling on the timing of Chiles' inquiry as their reason. CAS ruled in their favor, finding Chiles' inquiry had been filed four seconds after the 60-second deadline. But there appear to be multiple flaws with CAS' decision. First, Chiles didn't even learn she was party to the case until less than 24 hours before the hearing because CAS was sending emails to the wrong addresses. That left her almost no time to mount a defense or find evidence to back her claim — a significant detail. Chiles also did not know that the head of the CAS panel had a potential conflict of interest because he'd done work for the Romanian government. "CAS argued that Ms. Chiles should have submitted additional evidence regarding the timeliness of the inquiry and objected to (the head of the CAS panel) before the hearing," Chiles' attorneys said in a March statement after filing additional information to rebut CAS' arguments. "But these arguments do not take in to account the fact that CAS itself failed to provide sufficient notice to Ms. Chiles ... And further, once Ms. Chiles was finally notified, she had only a matter of hours to find representation to put forward her case. Even then, Ms. Chiles was only provided an incomplete record of the proceedings to that point." Perhaps most importantly, CAS' decision was based on the incorrect assumption that making an inquiry and logging it occurred simultaneously. Sure enough, video discovered after the CAS ruling clearly showed Landi making the inquiry within the allotted time. Three times, in fact. Chiles asked CAS to reconsider its decision after that video was found, but it refused. She then appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, arguing CAS' decision was "procedurally deficient." 'Jordan will not give up her effort to make clear to the world that the procedures governing her case were one-sided and to fight so that truth will prevail,' Maurice M. Suh, one of Chiles' attorneys, said in March. Where does Jordan Chiles' appeal stand? Very little has changed since Chiles filed her appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal last September. Publicly, at least. "It's still playing out overseas," USA Gymnastics president Li Li Leung said earlier this week. "It has taken longer than we expected for the Swiss Tribunal to come out with a decision, but we're still waiting for that decision. Just like everyone else is." The last public update came in March, when Chiles' attorneys released a copy of their filing rebutting claims by CAS and the Romanians. "The way in which (they) safeguard their interests in the comments of February 19, 2025, unfortunately require (Chiles) to comment on this very briefly within the framework of its constitutionally guaranteed right of reply," Chiles' attorneys wrote in their brief. In the brief, Chiles' attorneys said both CAS and the Romanians tried to introduce defenses that were either outdated or irrelevant. This included CAS' claim that everyone at the hearing agreed to use a report by Omega to resolve the question of when the inquiry was filed. Landi and Chiles' attorney at the hearing had disputed the report, Chiles' attorneys wrote. Also, the FIG said Omega did not record when a verbal inquiry was made, only when it was logged. "Even the CAS Panel came to the conclusion that the Omega Report as evidence was `not fully responsive to the information the Panel had sought,' Chiles' attorneys wrote in the brief. "The CAS Panel obviously felt compelled to rely on the Omega Report (wrongly and without any reason) solely because of the lack of evidence, even though the Omega Report did not address the question posed to the arbitral tribunal." Chiles' attorneys also criticized CAS and the Romanians' assertion that Chiles should somehow have known about the head of the CAS panel's potential conflict of interest. "This ... argument is not only belated and should therefore be dismissed out of hand, but is simply untenable," her attorneys wrote. "According to (CAS and the Romanians), Olympic athletes always before the start of the Olympic Games would have to carry out comprehensive investigations into the vested interests of all arbitrators on the CAS list - prophylactically, abstractly and without the existence of a concrete dispute." What has Jordan Chiles been up to since? Jordan Chiles has been busy since the Paris Olympics. She was part of Simone Biles' G.O.A.T. tour. She published her memoir, "I'm That Girl". She got her own Barbie. She walked the red carpet and was in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition. She appeared in Nike's powerful Super Bowl ad. She traveled. She competed for UCLA. But the saga surrounding her medal weighed heavily, Chiles acknowledged. In an Instagram post last week, she said, "This year had its highs, but the lows hit different. "Every setback and every disappointment made me dig deeper and showed me what I'm truly made of. It also showed me who's really in my corner," Chiles wrote. "Even when something's taken from you- your truth and your worth "To everyone who held me down this past year, who sent prayers, messages, and love when I needed it most- you reminded me I'm never on this journey alone. I love y'all for real. You kept me standing when I didn't even know how to take the next step," she added. "Still here. Still fighting. Still that girl." Is Jordan Chiles still competing? Yes. Jordan Chiles took the season off from elite competition and has not decided whether to continue through the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. She has, however, already said she plans to return to UCLA for her senior year. 'I'm ready. I'm definitely ready to go into next season,' Chiles told the Big Ten Network in April. 'Yes, I'm coming back. I'm not leaving the Bruins. I definitely can't wait to see how my senior year turns out and, you know, bring back that natty for real for real this time.' After doing Biles' G.O.A.T. tour last fall, Chiles competed for UCLA in the spring. She helped lead the Bruins to the Final Four, where they finished second to Oklahoma at the NCAA championships. She also won the uneven bars title, her third individual NCAA title overall, and was fifth in the all-around. Are the Romanian gymnasts still competing? Yes, both Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea are still competing. Both were part of the Romanian team that just missed a medal at the European championships in May, finishing 0.497 behind bronze-medalist France. Barbosu also won four individual medals at Europeans: a gold on floor exercise; silver on balance beam; and bronzes in the all-around and on uneven bars. Barbosu announced in January that she will compete for Stanford, beginning this season. How has gymnastics' governing body reacted? The only good thing to come out of this debacle is that it forced the International Gymnastics Federation to change its rules to ensure it never happens again. According to rules issued in June, decisions on inquiries are final and cannot be challenged "including appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which has no jurisdiction over any challenge." The new rules also state that inquiries are to be made electronically or, if no electronic device is available, through an official inquiry form. The inquiry officer is required to note the time the inquiry was submitted, verifying that it was made within the deadline. What could happen next? If the Swiss Federal Tribunal rules in Chiles' favor, the case will be sent back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. If it rejects her appeal, she will technically be required to return her medal. But good luck with that. Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tre'avis Jones, former Big Bend Offensive Player of the Year, transferring to FAMU football
Chiles' Tre'avis Jones (1) runs the ball during a game between Chiles and Madison County at Chiles High School Friday, Sept. 17, 2021. Tre'avis Jones is coming home. On Monday, the former Chiles High School star running back announced his commitment to join the Florida A&M football program on X/Twitter. Jones will transfer from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, where he spent his first two years of college. Coffeyville has been good to the Rattlers in the past, being the same school where former FAMU All-American and current Dallas Cowboys safety Markquese Bell came from. Advertisement In 2024, Jones rushed 101 times for 511 yards and four touchdowns for the Red Ravens in eight games He helped the Red Ravens win the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference title and was an all-conference second-teamer. Jones is a name familiar to Tallahassee. He was named the 2022 All-Big Bend Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. In his final season at Chiles, Jones had 179 carries for 1,497 yards and 17 touchdowns in eight games. He eclipsed 200 rushing yards five times and scored in seven games. Chiles senior running back Tre'avis Jones, All-Big Bend Offensive Player of the Year Jones had scholarship offers from various NCAA Division I college football programs. However, he opted to attend junior college for two years. Chiles senior Tre'avis Jones carries the ball toward the end zone during 7-v-7 football on June 8, 2022, at Chiles High School Jones, a 5-foot-9 and 195-pounder, adds a speedy, shifty option to FAMU's backfield. Advertisement The Chiles alumnus will join FAMU's running backs, headlined by last season's leading rusher, Thad Franklin Jr., and his running mate, Bo Summersett. Jones' Chiles and Coffeyville teammate Trenterius Lovett, an offensive lineman, has also committed to FAMU. The Rattlers wrapped up spring football camp on Monday. Aug. 30 marks the FAMU's season opener when it travels to Miami Garden's Hard Rock Stadium to face the Howard Bison in the Orange Blossom Classic. Jones will play a football game in Tallahassee for the first time in three years on Sept. 13 when the Rattlers host the Albany State Golden Rams on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium. Florida A&M Football 2025 Recruiting Class Quarterback RJ Hayes, Marianna High School Tyler Jefferson, Central Michigan Roman Purcell, Indiana Advertisement Running Back Tre'avis Jones, Coffeyville Community College Jamal Hailey, Western Michigan Wide Receiver Jacobi Hall, Marianna High School Kenyon Holden, Marianna High School Moses White, Hillsborough High School (Tampa, Florida) Tyreik Thorpe, Iowa Central Community College Kenari Wilcher, Illinois Tight End Gavin Hill, Florida Offensive Line David Gardner, Dr. Philips High School (Orlando, Florida) Trenterius Lovett, Coffeyville Community College Gozy Okeke, Iowa Central Community College Mozell Williams, Rutgers Defensive Line Alijah Alexander, Stetson DJ Jones, Virginia Sammy Mitchell IV, Western High School (Davie, Florida) Jahon Myers, Kennesaw State Xavier Perkins, Florida State Linebacker Justice Cross, Murray State Ryan Hall, Northwest High School (Germantown, Maryland) Defensive Back Jayden Bradford, Florida State Chase Dexter, Air Force Preparatory Daylyn Ditson, East Carolina TeQuan Latimore, Charlotte Caleb McKenzie, South Dakota Isaiah Murphy Sink, Jones High School (Orlando, Florida) Jalik Thomas, Appalachian State Dion Villiers, Tennessee State Kicker Andrew Abu-Akel, Western Michigan Cooper Badics, Edward Waters Emilio Bacardi, Lake Mary High School Punter Alexander Davis, Mississippi Valley State Long Snapper Alex Moscoso, Florida Memorial Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat. Follow his award-winning coverage on and contact him via email at GDThomas@ or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tre'avis Jones transferring to Florida A&M football; 2022 Big Bend POTY
New York Times
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Jordan Chiles, Aly Raisman and the benefits of ‘mutual mentorship'
Editor's Note: This story is a part of Peak, The Athletic's new desk covering leadership, personal development and success through the lens of sports. Peak aims to connect readers to ideas they can implement in their own personal and professional lives. Follow Peak here. Standing in the lobby of a Vancouver hotel, Jordan Chiles had her head on a swivel as she pressed send on another text to her friend, gymnast Ragan Smith. OK, I'm in the lobby, can you come downstairs? Advertisement Chiles, days away from turning 13, was in town to watch the 2014 Pacific Rim Championships, a major international gymnastics competition held every two years. An aspiring and eager gymnast with natural talent, Chiles wanted to wish her friends good luck: Smith, Simone Biles and in particular 19-year-old Aly Raisman, one of the more experienced gymnasts with whom she shared several similarities. Often given Raisman's assignments during practices, Chiles felt honored to have recently learned her famous tumbling pass. But there was one problem with her plan. 'Everything was very, very strict during that time frame,' Chiles said. 'For them to even want to see me was a huge thing.' Once she made it upstairs and into Raisman's room, thanks to some help from Smith, Chiles didn't have a plan other than to just show her support. 'Hey girly!' Chiles said. 'What's up!' 'Oh my gosh,' Raisman said. 'How did you get in our hotel room?' 'Don't worry about it. I'm here!' Over the next 10 years, the two formed a close bond, with the seven-year age difference inciting a mentorship dynamic early on. Raisman's veteran presence and variety of experiences led Chiles to take advice from her seriously. She learned from Raisman how to navigate unfamiliar situations and that it was OK to do things differently. To Chiles, Raisman's perspective was unique and comforting. Over time, though, something else happened: Raisman started to learn and benefit from Chiles, too. Their relationship is what Jennifer Jordan, a professor of leadership and organizational behavior at the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, calls a 'perfect example of mutual mentorship.' The idea is that a healthy mentorship should actually be a two-way street. While the benefits may initially be one-sided, both people should eventually feel the relationship has contributed to their development in some way. And while the mentee's benefits are often more obvious, the mentor is also able to learn and gain new perspectives and ideas. 'That openness to learning, that support, that sharing of information, it's essentially leadership,' Jordan said. 'I wouldn't even say it makes them better leaders. What they're doing is showing leadership through this relationship.' As one of the younger gymnasts at national training camp each month, Chiles' humor would occasionally score her an invitation to the older girls' cabin. A self-described jokester, she connected with her teammates quickly, including Raisman. Following practices at the ranch, their conversations grew longer, especially as the pressure crept in. Advertisement 'The training,' Raisman said, 'was so intense.' Using her own experiences to guide Chiles through the pre-practice jitters and doubts, Raisman wanted to be a source of encouragement. Look, I've been in your shoes before. I understand everything you're going through. You've got this. 'She just has that knowledge,' Chiles said. 'An understanding of what it's like. And how it's been.' She joked that much of Raisman's wisdom can be found underneath the alter ego her teammates gave her years ago: Grandma Aly. 'Aly is just a very old soul,' Chiles said. 'That's how I see it. An old soul type of girl. When you have somebody like that, you can get a different perspective of what your sport can be. And you can navigate it differently then.' One day at the ranch, Chiles was sitting outside her cabin in between practices, laughing with some of the other younger gymnasts. While they were talking, the door to another cabin opened and Raisman walked out. 'Guys, I'm trying to sleep,' she said. 'Can you keep it down a little?' Chiles and the other girls looked around at one another. 'We couldn't stop laughing,' Chiles said. In countless ways, Raisman forged her own path, never worrying about whether she was untraditional or not. Chiles clung to messages like that. 'She has taught me so many things about what it's like to be not a common gymnast,' Chiles said. 'She wasn't like everybody else. She had her own ways. And she embraced those and made sure that those were the things she was authentic to because that's who she is.' That message has manifested itself in Chiles' career decisions, like making changes in her coaching and training, as well as choosing to be bold while competing. At the most recent Olympic Trials in Minneapolis in June, she was interacting with the crowd in between her events, causing much of the audience to join her in clapping and dancing. Advertisement Raisman, who retired from international competition in 2020, watched from the stands. 'It made me so happy to see,' Raisman said. 'I think Jordan shows people that you can be authentically yourself and it's also helping her be the best gymnast she can be.' For Raisman, having a personality like Chiles' around was a refreshing source of positivity. She found her attitude 'really inspiring' and tried to absorb her energy, wanting to learn from her ability to put a positive spin on any situation. 'Even when I was younger, and Jordan was younger than me, I still would go to Jordan,' she said. 'It doesn't matter someone's age.' At a competition before the 2016 Olympics, Raisman was getting ready for vault while battling a bout of anxiety. Chiles, who was in the stands, came over to talk to her. 'You become so close that you can almost communicate with a look,' Raisman said. Like Raisman had done for her so many times, Chiles offered words of encouragement. You know how to do this. Take it one thing at a time. Just be you. Aly, nobody can take this away from you. You shine in so many ways. This is the hardest thing and you just have to keep pushing. Chiles had always offered that support and comfort to Raisman. Before competing at Olympic Trials in 2016, amid the nerves and stress, Raisman saw Chiles, who was there just to watch the competition. The two hugged. Raisman looked at Chiles and said, 'You're my good luck charm.' Chiles, now a junior at UCLA and one of the top gymnasts in the country, is trying to pass down what Raisman did for her to other young gymnasts. 'The encouraging words that she has told me, I have told to the younger generation,' she said. 'It's like when somebody loves you in a way that you want to be able to love others the same way.' The power of Raisman's influence is still there. At a college meet in January, Chiles was about to compete when she looked over and saw Raisman, who was there to broadcast the competition. Raisman was nervous, as she usually is when she commentates. Before Chiles performed, she walked over to Raisman and smiled. Advertisement 'Aly,' she said, 'You're my good luck charm this time.' A small thing, but it was exactly what each of them needed to hear to relax. Chiles crushed her events. Raisman felt less nervous. 'It's a moment of supporting each other in whatever stage we are in life,' Raisman said. 'It's very special. I feel very grateful for that.' Elise Devlin is a writer for Peak, The Athletic's new desk covering leadership, personal development and success. She last wrote about Tara VanDerveer's curiosity as a leader. Follow Peak here. (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Ronald Martinez / Getty Images, Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jordan Chiles Wasn't 'Able to Move' After ‘Devastating' Olympics Medal Controversy: ‘I Still Struggle to Talk About It'
Jordan Chiles is opening up about the 'devastating' impact of having the bronze medal stripped away from her after the Paris Olympics last summer. The 23-year-old U.S. gymnast opened up about the Olympic controversy in a new ESPN profile piece surrounding the release of her debut memoir, I'm That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams, last month. "It's still a struggle to talk about it," Chiles tells ESPN, detailing the impact the incident had on her mental health. "Six months ago, I was not able to move." The UCLA gymnast adds later in the story: 'I was stuck in my bed. I was mentally gone, mentally not okay.' Chiles was stripped of the bronze medal she initially won in the women's floor competition last August. The series of events began after Chiles was first awarded fifth place in the event, two spots off the podium. Chiles' USA Gymnastics coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi then submitted a request for a second review of the athlete's score, asking the Olympic judges to take into consideration the difficulty of her routine. Related: Jordan Chiles Reveals Her Plan If She Doesn't Get Her Olympic Medal Back The judges agreed with Landi and then reshuffled the standings, awarding Chiles the bronze medal and leading to Chiles, silver medalist Simone Biles and Brazilian gold medalist Rebeca Andrade standing side-by-side on the podium. After the event, two Romanian gymnasts filed an appeal on the judges' rescoring, arguing that Landi's initial inquiry into Chiles' score came seconds too late. The decision was arbitrated by several sports bodies, including the International Olympic Committee, the International Gymnastics Federation and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A judge for the CAS ultimately ruled in favor of the Romanians, and led to the IOC requesting Chiles ship her bronze medal back, stripping her of the title while she was in the middle of a week of media appearances celebrating what she told ESPN was the accomplishment of a 'lifelong dream.'"I can still feel the joy and happiness I had when I won the bronze medal," Chiles told ESPN's Alyssa Roenigk. "I was happy that I was able to stand on that podium with Simone and Rebeca because that's a lifelong dream of a little girl. But now, some days I don't get to think that way." Chiles also revealed in the piece that she has not sent back the medal. She and her lawyers are still fighting the ruling, per ESPN, and her appeal over the most recent decision is currently in the hands of the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland. According to the outlet, a ruling on Chiles' petition could take years. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Oregon native also admitted she debated ever returning to competitive gymnastics after the incident last summer. "I thought, 'There's no way I'm going to compete on a competition floor again,' " she said. "I'm going to get looked at. People are going to yell crazy things. The negativity is just going to keep coming.' Related: Jordan Chiles Reveals Which of Her 2024 Olympics Teammates Still Texts Her for Fashion Advice (Exclusive) In her new book, Chiles writes about the moment she found out she was being stripped of the bronze medal.'I'm surprised everyone couldn't hear the sound of my heart breaking, because it absolutely did,' Chiles writes, describing the moment she found out while in an Uber. 'My brain stopped even functioning within my body. Somewhere faraway, I could see my mom shaking her head, and hear her saying 'Why? Why!' " Read the original article on People
New York Times
14-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How Jordan Chiles rediscovered ‘that girl' at UCLA after Paris Olympics medal controversy
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Time zones don't affect Jordan Chiles. She declares this while sitting in a hotel conference room near the University of Maryland, more than 2,600 miles from her Los Angeles townhouse. It's 10 p.m. on a Friday in January, the night before a competition. She already split her week between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, where she flew for a Time Magazine 'Women of the Year' photoshoot that Thursday, and she and her teammates had just spent their day touring Washington D.C., making stops at the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial. Advertisement The schedule sounds exhausting. But Chiles has been traveling to international gymnastics competitions since she was 12. She knows the routine. The next day, Chiles scores a perfect 10.0 — the second of the NCAA season — on uneven bars in front of a record crowd for a Maryland gymnastics meet. The 7,287 fans who packed Xfinity Center erupted into celebration over her routine, even though she was competing against the hometown Terrapins. About 12 hours later, she jetted off again, back to California with her UCLA teammates after securing the first Big Ten conference win in program history. The cross-country trip epitomized Chiles' life since returning home from the 2024 Olympics: A whirlwind of flights, appearances, sponsorship obligations, college classes, and still, somehow, room for gymnastics. The first 🔟 in the @BigTen for the Bruins belongs to @ChilesJordan on uneven bars! 💻: @BigTenPlus #GoBruins — UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) January 19, 2025 But for Chiles, that's the easy part. Behind the scenes, the 23-year-old spent the second half of 2024 wrestling with the emotional fallout from the Paris Olympics that ended in controversy and continues in the courts. 'Since I was going, going, going I didn't have to think about anything. I didn't have to process anything,' Chiles said. 'But at the same time, since I wasn't processing it, it was just in my head. Building up.' The bronze medal Chiles initially won on Aug. 5 in the Olympics floor exercise final is tied up in an appeals process that has reached the highest level of Switzerland's court system. It stems from a score change that boosted Chiles from fifth to third on the day of competition. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled the inquiry filed by Chiles' coach to change her score arrived four seconds too late, and six days after she stood on the podium next to U.S. star Simone Biles and Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, the International Olympic Committee reallocated the medal to Romanian Ana Bărbosu. Advertisement Chiles' legal team appealed the CAS ruling to the Swiss Federal Tribunal — Switzerland's Supreme Court — in September, arguing there is video evidence proving Chiles' coach, Cécile Canqueteau-Landi, submitted the inquiry in time. But a ruling could still take months, and the best-case scenario for Chiles is that the tribunal refers the case back to CAS for a second look. Meaning more waiting. Seven months after a torrent of emotions and decisions that Chiles said took away 'the recognition of who I was,' she, Bărbosu and the gymnastics world await a decision. In between, Chiles needed to rediscover herself. 13.666. The number appeared on a large screen inside Bercy Arena shortly after Chiles finished her last routine of the 2024 Olympics. Bărbosu, who sat in third place, had earned a 13.700, and it seemed Chiles had missed the podium by less than a tenth of a point. But a few moments later, a new score appeared. 13.766. Chiles jumped into Canqueteau-Landi's arms, then burst into tears and took off running, overcome with emotion about winning her first individual Olympic medal. When Canqueteau-Landi caught up, she lifted Chiles in a hug and spun her in a circle as Biles bounced around the pair. A few feet away, Bărbosu had been waving a Romanian flag while celebrating what looked like a podium finish. After seeing her position change to fourth, the 18-year-old dropped the flag and clasped her hands over her stomach in shock. She left the competition floor in tears, covering her face with the collar of her warm-up suit jacket. Chiles went on to the medal ceremony, where she and Biles bowed to Andrade, who took the gold, in what would become an iconic image from the Paris Games. The women were the first three Black gymnasts to share an Olympic podium. Then, the CAS ruling. The IOC decision. Bărbosu received her own bronze medal 11 days later at a ceremony in Bucharest. Advertisement By that point, Chiles was already on the move. She went from Paris to New York to appear on 'Today' and announce her return to UCLA. She went home to Texas, vacationed in Mexico, returned to New York for appearances at Fashion Week, a Mets game and the U.S. Open and presented at the MTV Video Music Awards — where rapper Flava Flav bestowed her with a bedazzled bronze clock necklace. The next morning, she flew to Oceanside, Calif., where she had 72 hours to learn the choreography for the Gold Over America Tour, the post-Olympics exhibition led by Biles. The rest of the cast had been rehearsing for two weeks. On Sept. 16, 2024, a little over a month after the IOC stripped Chiles of her medal, the tour kicked off in Oceanside. It made 30 stops over seven weeks. In each new city, the audience roared when Chiles ran onto the floor at the center of the venue. For 90 minutes, she danced, tumbled, waved, smiled and cheered for fellow elite gymnasts with the energy and confidence of a pop star performing to a sold-out crowd. But back on the bus or in her hotel room, she struggled with what had happened in Paris. 'Those days were the hardest of my life,' she said. 'I didn't want to be seen. I didn't want to be in a place where I felt like I was going to disappoint the area (because) the energy wasn't going to be good. I'd rather just stay in the bunk and keep to myself.' She felt she couldn't pull herself out of bed on the tour bus. She cried herself to sleep, and when she woke up, she cycled through the same questions. What now? What am I going to do? She replayed the events from Paris in her mind, wondering if she was somehow at fault. Some days, she couldn't keep food down, so she only drank water. During one stop on the tour, Chiles isolated herself in a hotel room and politely declined when Olympic alternate Joscelyn Roberson invited her out with a group of castmates. Instead, she sat and stared out the window. Advertisement 'I didn't want to do anything. I just wanted to be alone and have nobody around me,' she said. 'Just hide myself.' The young woman who lived by the motto of 'I'm that girl,' to remind herself that she had nothing to prove in her quest for a second Olympics, lost her spark. 'I'd always tell myself, 'Do I even know who the real Jordan Chiles is? Do I know who she is?'' she said. 'It really would take a toll on me to try to figure out who she is. Who is the Jordan Chiles that people talk about and they're always so happy to see? It was hard to get out of that mindset and push myself to feel comfortable in my own skin.' Over time, little things helped stop her introspective spiral. She sought comfort in Disney movies from her childhood, watching 'The Cheetah Girls,' 'Let It Shine' and 'Camp Rock' in hopes of rediscovering a youthful joy. She drew on her iPad, stayed up late cracking jokes on the bus with her castmates, and went shopping with Biles, one of her closest friends. She also began to think about the Jordan Chiles of the future. 'She can leave the old one that's trying to be depressed behind her,' she said. 'She has other things to do. She doesn't have to be stuck.' The appeal may bring the bronze medal controversy back into the headlines, but Chiles says it isn't on her mind. She lets her legal team handle the process. Chiles' team submitted an additional brief to the court in January. Her attorney, Maurice Suh, declined to comment while the appeal is pending. The Swiss Supreme Court typically takes between four to six months to issue a decision, said Marc-Anthony de Boccard, a Swiss-qualified lawyer and sports law specialist. They're ruling, essentially, on due process, he said: whether the court complied with the right to be heard. Which is why a second CAS review would follow if Chiles 'wins' this round. Advertisement Chiles' focus has instead been on her college season, where she's trying to help UCLA to its first national championship since 2018. Her roommate and close friend Margzetta Frazier, a former elite gymnast and UCLA standout from 2019 to 2024, said Chiles is able to compete at such a high standard because of all that she's been through. 'She's used all of her experiences throughout her career to get that mental edge that she developed to where her gymnastics is very intentional, down to the way she puts her fingers,' she said. Since her first 10.0 of 2025 in Maryland on Jan. 18, Chiles added another perfect score on floor exercise to clinch a victory over Michigan State by one tenth of a point. Her Prince-inspired routine opens with a huge double back layout and features expressive choreography packed with personality, including a brief air guitar solo. UCLA coach Janelle McDonald, who sees Chiles train on floor exercise multiple times a week, says it 'exudes joy' — the joy that eluded Chiles in the aftermath of Paris. 'It's hard to watch her without a smile on your face because you see the joy. You see the effort,' McDonald said. 'You see the determination that she's put into her sport and her craft for all of these years.' In 2025 alone, Chiles has released a new signature leotard collection, appeared in Nike's first Super Bowl ad in 27 years, caught a pass from Michael Vick at the NFL Pro Bowl and published a memoir. She attends two in-person classes, and on weekends, she's in UCLA's Pauley Pavilion or wowing the large crowds that flock to Big Ten venues for a chance to see the Bruins. 'On days where I'm tired and I feel like I can't keep going, I'm like, 'OK, if Jordan can go to five states in two days, then I can get up for work today,'' Frazier said. Chiles isn't certain what the next 10 or even two years will look like. She's aiming for the individual national titles she hasn't yet won to complete a career sweep after placing first on bars and floor at the 2023 NCAA championships. She still has one more year of NCAA eligibility, should she choose to use it. She isn't firm on a decision about the 2028 Olympics, but she is sure of where she stands after her Paris experience. 'I am still that girl and will forever be that girl,' she said. 'Period.' (Illustration: Ray Orr / The Athletic;)
