Jordan Chiles adds secret ingredients of fire and fun to gold-medal U.S. gymnastics team

She didn’t make the world championship team. She struggled at the consolation meet, the Pan American Games. Jordan Chiles appeared to be on the outside of the Olympic conversation eight months ago.

“We told her you never know until it's over, so keep working, keep your head high,” said Cecile Landi, the U.S. head coach who also trains Chiles. “She did the work and she's Olympic champion today."

The UCLA star won her first Olympic gold medal and competed on all four events during the team final Tuesday at Bercy Arena to help the United States get back on top after a silver medal in Tokyo.

Among teammates looking for collective and personal redemption after Tokyo, Chiles is only starting to get hers. She can add to her medal haul Monday during the women’s floor final.

Before falling while mounting the beam during Tuesday’s team final, Chiles’ Olympics were looking like a complete 180 from her performance three years ago. She entered the Tokyo Olympics having hit every routine for a year. Then she committed a major form break on bars during qualification and fell on beam. She didn’t advance to any event finals.

Three years wiser with two seasons of college competition steeling her nerves, Chiles put together a stellar qualification Sunday to exorcise her Olympic demons. She hit every event. She finished third in the all-around. She should have been in position to advance to the individual final.

The problem was that her U.S. teammates Simone Biles and Suni Lee finished first and second, respectively.

Countries are limited to two athletes in each event final. The rule was meant to promote fairness, but it’s often under fire for keeping the best competitors out of medal contention.

Chiles is, understandably, not a fan of the rule, she said Tuesday after the team final. She was in position to qualify for three individual finals but will instead compete again only on floor, where she qualified third with a 13.833. In addition to her all-around qualifying score that Lee edged out by 0.067 points, Chiles was fourth on vault but did not advance because Biles and Jade Carey qualified in first and third, respectively.

“It's devastating for her,” U.S. gymnastics technical lead Chellsie Memmel said after qualifying. “It's the nature of the sport. … It just happened to be today, it was Suni's day. And it sucks for Jo, but I know that they're all still going to come together, they're going to support each other.”

Chiles did just that during competition Tuesday when she jumped in the air after Biles landed her vault. When Chiles bounced back from her fall on beam with a stellar floor routine, Lee gave her a high-10 and called the performance that had a packed crowd clapping to the beat “fire.” Lee, Carey, Chiles and Hezly Rivera, who did not compete in the team final, all held hands when Biles took the floor for the final routine and they jumped in unison when the 38-time world and Olympic medalist landed her last tumbling pass to clinch the gold medal.

When Chiles received her medal on the podium, she clutched it with both hands and raised it to her eyes.

“Being able to be a part of winning this gold medal and everything that I've just gone through, it's just been an amazing experience,” Chiles said. “This smile, it's always going to be smiling, because it's just been an amazing experience.”

In addition to her consistent and engaging routines, Chiles has earned the unofficial role of hype woman. U.S. gymnastics strategic lead Alicia Sacramone Quinn called Chiles “that one person who can change the dynamic in the room.” Her infectious energy made her a perfect fit for UCLA, where she won two individual NCAA titles in 2023 on bars and floor before deferring her enrollment to train for the Olympics.

How Chiles has maintained her energetic college personality while also competing on the national team has only better prepared her for bigger moments.

“Something that's really important in our program is that each individual is able to blossom and show up as their true authentic self,” UCLA coach Janelle McDonald said. “I feel like when you're able to show up as your full, authentic self, you're gonna really be able to add to the people around you in a way that you can't when you're sort of closed off.

“Jordan is a perfect example of that. She's so authentic to who she is and she goes out on that floor and she shows the world who she is, and that's joyful and silly and fun and passionate.”

Ever the performer, Chiles looked directly into the TV camera during her team final floor routine and winked. During qualifying, her performance had Snoop Dogg bobbing his head to the soundtrack of Beyoncé hits. He gave her a standing ovation when she hit her final pose.

Chiles will have one more opportunity in Paris to bring the crowd to its feet.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .