UCLA gymnast Jordan Chiles receives a perfect 10 score
Chiles performed her routine to songs by Doja Cat, Lizzo and Normani.
Olympian Jordan Chiles scored her first perfect 10 in an NCAA gymnastic routine during the UCLA versus Utah match on Friday.
The 20-year-old college freshman performed a now-viral upbeat floor routine to a song mix featuring Doja Cat‘s “Boss B*tch,” Lizzo‘s “Truth Hurts” and Normani‘s “Motivation.”
Despite her flawless routine, team UCLA fell a tenth of a point short from winning, with the final score of 197.650 to Utah’s 197.750.
“At the end of the day I’m just going out there and having fun,” said Chiles to ESPN at the end of the meet between the two rival teams.
Both teams are amongst the top-ranked women’s gymnastics schools in the Pac 12, with UCLA coming in at no. 8 and Utah at no. 4.
In 2020, Chiles represented USA in the Tokyo Olympics, helping the team bring home a silver medal. Utah also has an Olympian on the roster. Grace McCallum was Chiles’ silver medal teammate and is a Utah freshman.
Chiles hit the floor twice in two of the most difficult routines of the night.
She earned a 9.925 on a bar routine that was one of the toughest in all of NCAA gymnastics. Her second routine on the mat, filled with double layout mount and a superwoman dive roll, brought the house down and got her the coveted 10.0 score.
UCLA swept the individual all-around honors, with Chiles winning first and her teammates Norah Flatley and Chaw Campbell coming in second and third.
Ultimately McCalum’s bar routine, which earned her her first 10 too, edged Utah ahead just enough to win.
Chiles got support from famous faces after her record-breaking routine.
“MAKING BLACK HISTORY IN BLACK HISTORY MONTH! YESSS @ChilesJordan,” said Lizzo in a tweet to Chiles on Saturday.
Normani also recognized the gymnast posting “my girllllllllllllllll” on a video of Chiles’ routine.
Chiles’s accomplishments come amidst some controversy within the UCLA gymnastic program.
Earlier this year, several UCLA gymnasts accused former Bruin Alexis Jeffrey of using racial slurs to both Black and Asian people, despite them telling her it was offensive.
Instead of reprimanding Jeffrey for the racist language, team coaches and leadership told the team to embrace her because they feared she was struggling with her mental health after she was confronted for using the derogatory language.
Senior Margzetta Frazier called for head coach Chris Walker to step down after she said team leadership failed to protect its Black players.
After Friday’s game, Flatley said the team’s new motto is “resilience.”
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