Jordan Chiles reflects on how she became ‘that girl’
Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles shares how she’s asserted herself in her sport, her family’s sacrifices, and navigating grief ahead of the Olympics.
After dazzling crowds with a Beyoncé-centric floor routine during the Olympic trials where she declared herself “that girl,” gymnast Jordan Chiles is ready for Paris. A member of the US gymnastics national team since she was 12, she is confidently stepping into the 2024 Summer Olympics.
As the cover star for Teen Vogue’s July/August issue, Chiles, 23, told the magazine, “I feel more confident in myself, and I’m able to be the Jordan that I’ve always wanted to be when I first started gymnastics.”
However, the professional gymnast’s journey to date has had its share of turmoil. From encountering racism as a child gymnast to being “traumatized” over her diet and body-shaming to attending her first Olympics in Toyko as her mother faced a prison sentence for wire fraud, Chiles has endured many low points.
“I’ve gotten medals taken away from me. I’ve been told that my mom wasn’t my mom,” she told the outlet. “I’ve gotten told that I wasn’t Black.”
One of her lowest was finishing 11th in the all-around at the 2018 US Championships — and almost quit gymnastics, as a result. After years of facing backlash for the way she looked, her ethnicity, her music choices, and beyond, she told the New York Times at the then, “I didn’t think the sport wanted me anymore.”
She credits her teammates, especially Simone Biles, for helping her stay encouraged. She also gives major kudos to her family for the sacrifices they have made to accommodate her career.
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“My family had to sacrifice a lot of things — especially my siblings, taking me to the gym and doing all these things for me,” Chiles explained. “It’s been like that my whole life. But now, I try to shy away from all of that attention. I was that center when I was younger, and I want to give everybody else that attention now.”
What has also kept Chiles pushing toward achieving greatness in her sport is the strength she gained through those who she calls her biggest supporters: her late grandfather and aunt, who both died in 2023.
“I don’t really know where I am in my healing process,” she told Teen Vogue. “Some days I feel great, and then, on days like making my second Olympics, I was so happy, and then I was sad that they weren’t there to witness it.”
Chiles added that her grandfather and aunt were her “why.”
“They wanted this for me, and I wanted to do it for them,” she said.
A tattoo on her forearm now immortalizes a quote of her grandfather’s: “Where you are, I have been. Where I am, you will be.”
Considering the whirlwind she’s been through, Chiles admitted it took her some time to ask for support. However, she also recently began therapy. “It’s okay to ask for help,” she added.
Her ultimate advice to younger gymnasts, especially those facing some sort of bias, is to always stick up for yourself.
“I can tell the younger generation, ‘Look, if this ever happens, use your voice, say what you need to say. And if you get kicked out of the gym, you get kicked out of the gym,’” she continued. “’But at least you were able to stand up for yourself. At least you were able to tell them how you truly feel.’”
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