After making waves on the global gymnastic stage, Jordan Chiles has taken the collegiate gymnastic world by storm. She has proven time and time again that her talent is undeniable, and she has the accolades to prove it. She mentions in a 2022 interview that the medals she has earned hold a special place in her heart.
“My medals are my armor,” Chiles said. “I always tell kids no matter how many medals you get, no matter the circumstance or anything like that, just remember when you look at it why you got that medal.”
Chiles went on to say, “The Olympic medal, that was my armor, knowing that I went through aches and pains and everything and even in that moment, we did that, so that’s what I look at. And then for my worlds medals, all three of them are just like, ‘Wow, you did this. You tried three times and the fourth time you made it.’ Each one is definitely a heart-warming thing. I couldn’t be more proud of myself.”
Photo courtesy of Jordan Chiles’ IG @jordanchiles
Once again, Chiles has done something incredible this season in earning the nation’s highest all-around score in gymnastics this season. Not only was her 39.900 score the nation’s best, but it was also a career high. She became the second PAC-12 gymnast to sweep the podium awards nabbing four event titles along with the all-around title.
Chiles was features as the Gymnast of the Week by the Pac-12 Conference. Below are some of her incredible statistics (per Pac-12 Conference release).
- Earns the honor for a second straight week and the fifth time in 2023 after posting the nation’s best all-around score of 2023 and a new career high of 39.900.
- The 39.900 was also the second-highest all-around score by a Bruin in program history.
- Her performance helped the Bruins to a second straight 198-plus team score, with the 198.275 in the win over Iowa State in the regular-season finale being the sixth-highest in program history.
- Became just the second Pac-12 gymnast this year to sweep the podium awards with all four event titles and the all-around title at the same meet.
- Scored her second consecutive 10.0 on bars and the third on bars in her career, giving her three overall perfect 10s during her sophomore campaign and five total in her career.
- Tied for first on vault with a 9.975, tied for first on beam 9.950 and won the bars outright (10.0) and the floor outright (9.975).
- Has scored 9.9 or higher on 26 out of her last 28 routines and 9.95 or higher on 21 of those 28.
- Seventh weekly award of her career.
Of her incredible performances of late, Chiles said, “Being able to know that I did get a 39.9 is an amazing thing. People have been asking this year, are we going to get a 40 this year, are we going to get a 40? But obviously I’m climbing to that point.”
Her coach Janelle McDonald talked about how much work Chile puts into her craft. “She works really hard, she’s really intentional in the gym about doing what she needs to do to keep pushing forward and keep building, so I’m not surprised at all when she comes out here so confident.”
McDonald went on to say, “Bottom line is she’s feeling great, she’s working hard and I wanted to give her the opportunity to do that if she felt ready to.”
Though UCLA ended up placing second at the Pac-12 Championships, Chiles’ performance gave the team a much needed boost with her floor routine. Chiles plans on deferring her college studies at UCLA to focus on training for the Olympics that will be held in Paris.