The Stunning Transformation Of Gymnast Jordan Chiles

Every Summer Olympics, a new athlete springs into the spotlight, and at the Paris 2024 Games that standout star was elite gymnast Jordan Chiles. And although their names might sound alike, Chiles is not to be mistaken for her Team USA teammate and fellow flipper extraordinaire, Simone Biles. While the two have both reached the top of the gymnastics mountain, having competed in multiple Olympic Games, Chiles has her own unique story that must be witnessed to be believed. 

From small beginnings, Chiles has gone on to claim bronze, silver, and gold medals. That's not all, though — she has also cartwheeled her way into the pop culture zeitgeist. She graced the cover of Teen Vogue in July 2024 and become a household name. She has also buoyed both her bank account and cultural profile by partnering with corporate sponsors like Nike, Milani Cosmetics, and Too Good & Co. food and drink company. 

Competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics has only served to heighten Chiles' profile. Not only is she being touted as one of the most stylish gymnasts practicing at the moment, with her bedazzled leotards and long nails, but Chiles is undeniably good at what she does. With her newest medals set to score her a collection of new magazine covers and corporate sponsors, let's explore how the athletic superstar got to where she is today.

Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles was born on April 15, 2001 in Vancouver, Washington to her parents Timothy and Gina Chiles. The Pacific Northwest native had an interesting childhood in that she was the youngest of five siblings. Her two older sisters are Jazmin and Jade while her two brother are named Tajmen & Tyrus. Speaking on "The Squeeze" podcast in 2024, Chiles revealed that she didn't have the easiest relationship with her older siblings. 

Not only was Chiles the baby of the family, naturally receiving more parental care than her other siblings who were older and able to care for themselves, but she was also the most athletically gifted member of the Chiles brood. Speaking with Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay, Chiles admitted to the two hosts that she prioritized growing up. "I thank [my siblings] all the time ... I give all the flowers to them because I don't know how they dealt with me." 

Chiles also admitted that although none of her other siblings went pro, her family members are also athletic. Her family was so obsessed with sports, in fact, that Gina opted to name her after basketball star Michael Jordan. Chiles described her mom as a "huge fan" of the basketball player and spoke with the Lautners about how her father, Timothy, allowed his wife to choose their fifth baby's name after suffering from fertility issues and a miscarriage. 

From the crowds of people chanting your name to visions of a shiny gold trophy case in your multi-million dollar home, there is a lot about being an Olympic champion that can be enticing. However, for many young athletes who become enmeshed in their sport at a young age, there are more diverse reasons as to why one might pursue the world's biggest athletic stage. 

It could be a parent or coach's approval that they are after, or perhaps they are driven by personal ambition. For gymnast Jordan Chiles, what drew her to the Olympic flame (metaphorical and literal) was a fascination with the amazing feats of athleticism that she witnessed on the Olympic stage as a child. 

Speaking with NBC Olympics, Chiles recalled being an active youngster who was always popping into handstands and throwing herself into a cartwheel for no other reason than to get some energy out. At 6, her parents signed her up for a recreational gymnastics class and the tumbler has never looked back. It was only one year later that the Olympic Games first entered her radar. "I remember laying on my parents bed and watching the Olympics," she revealed. "I told my mom, 'One day I will go to the Olympics.' I was only 7 years old at the time."

Although gymnastics has brought Jordan Chiles into the international spotlight, landing her fame, prestige, and more than a few Olympic medals to her name, the experience of being subsumed by an elite sport at such a young age has also taken its toll on the superstar. Speaking with Teen Vogue in 2024, the Olympian opened up about her personal experience growing up in the gym and shared insider details about what it's like being raised to be a winner. 

One of the biggest sources of trauma for her was body image and food. She bravely told the publication, "I was traumatized when I was younger. I was getting weighed. I was told I could only eat certain things. There were a lot of things that I was told because I had to 'look a certain way.'" As scarring as this treatment can be for adolescent girls, and clearly was for Chiles, she has outgrown and overcome this punishing mindset. 

The Olympian went on to say, "But as I've gotten older, I've realized we're human. Our bodies go through different changes. I'm a woman, so obviously, when it comes to hormonal situations or my cycle, I can't control that." Chiles is proud to report that things began to turn around for her when she sought out a mental health professional to help her deal with her issues around food and eating. 

It's no secret that U.S. Olympic superstar Simone Biles lives a lavish life, but did you know that part of that life was her very own training gym located in Spring, Texas? Learning about her friend's secret weapon helped save fellow gymnast Jordan Chiles' career, as she almost said goodbye to the sport for good before deciding to join Biles' gym. 

After an experience with an abusive coach who encouraged disordered eating habits and destructive self image, Chiles found herself at an all time low. She contemplated hanging up her leotard for good. Looking back on this time, Chiles' mother recalled that her daughter asked her to rid their home of anything that could remind her of gymnastics, including her awards. 

However, everything turned around when Chiles' close friend, Simone Biles, stepped in. Not yet ready to see her compatriot bid adieu to the balance beam and uneven bars for good, Biles asked Chiles if she would be interested in relocating to Texas to train at the World Champions Centre, a training gym that the Olympian opened alongside her parents, Ron and Nellie Biles, in 2014. Chiles agreed and it wasn't long before she was back in the game. Speaking with The New York Times, Chiles said, "I discovered that gymnastics doesn't always have to be about strictness and being so hard on yourself." It looks like we have Biles to thank for the continued reign of Queen Chiles.

Jordan Chiles' mother, Gina Chiles, was caught embezzling money from her clients and business partners — an ordeal that has hung over Chiles' career since the news broke of her mother's sentencing in 2021. Gina and her husband Timothy, who worked as pastors and business owners, found themselves in hot water when Gina's grave mishandling of money came to light. Gina was sentenced to federal prison in August 2021 after being found guilty of embezzling money from more than one hapless victim. One of her most severely affected victims, a woman named Karla Pearlstein, was robbed of $945,000, KOIN reported.

The gymnast's mother was originally meant to start her sentence in the middle of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but had the beginning of her jail time delayed so that she could travel to Tokyo to watch her daughter compete in her first ever Olympic Games. Gina, who was sentenced to serve a year and a day, ended up serving eight months before being released.

Although this trial surely affected Chiles' greatly, she has yet to speak to the press about her mother's time in prison. When asked about the incident by Teen Vogue in 2024, she reportedly "declined to comment."

If you're competing at an elite level in any sport, you're more than likely going to struggle with work-life balance. Imagine if your livelihood depended on posting sponsored ads and fulfilling media commitments such as photo shoots and interviews. 

This is the sticky position gymnast Jordan Chiles found herself in when she had finally reached the apex of her career. Was the money flowing in? Yes. Was she medalling at all the right competitions? Double yes. However, what was missing in her life was a bit of normalcy. While other young girls her age were gearing up for dorm rooms, frat parties, and their new and exciting college years, Chiles spent most of her days inside the four walls of a stuffy training gym. 

The athlete chose to combat this by enrolling at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It was announced in 2018 that Chiles would be joining UCLA's women's gymnastics team, and the Olympian later attended business classes from the fall of 2021 to the spring of 2023. While she eventually deferred her enrollment to focus on training for the 2024 Paris Olympics, that stint in business school proves that Chiles was serious about needing to add some new tools to her toolbox.

The truth about self-confidence is that it can't all come from within — most of us do need external validation to keep going. Just look at gymnast Jordan Chiles, the poster girl for self-confidence. In 2024, she told The New York Times that her new motto is "I'm that girl." Where did all this self-confidence come from? Well, from none other than the medal podium at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Chiles, who made her Olympic debut at the 2020 Games (which were delayed to 2021 due to Covid-19), not only scored big in the personality department, wowing America with her bright smile and impressive showmanship, but she also raked in the points where it mattered most. During the U.S. trials, Chiles came in an impressive third place, with only the iconic Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee coming before her. Chiles' trial routines were about as perfect as you can get, with the gymnast landing every single routine in the crucial domestic competitions. 

However, her big moment in the spotlight came when Biles prematurely dropped out of the Tokyo Olympics due to the "twisties" interrupting her performance. In desperate need of a replacement, Team USA tapped Chiles to compete in Biles' place. With such short notice and so little prep time, Chiles pulled through with impressive scores, upping Team USA's overall score in the team final and ensuring that they left with a silver medal.

Gymnast Jordan Chiles found herself in a unique position when was forced to begin training for the 2024 Paris Olympics while still battling the grief of losing her aunt and her grandfather in quick succession. 

On the very day the elite gymnast was meant to compete in the high-profile Pac-12 Championships, she found out that her aunt, Crystal Oliver, was in the hospital. Within a few days, the woman so loved and cherished by her niece died. While Chiles' family kept the details of Oliver's death personal, Chiles has since opened up about how this loss affected her emotionally. A choked-up Chiles revealed on "The Squeeze" podcast that she wishes she could go back "to when my aunt was alive and apologize for a lot of things."

Tragically, Chiles' grandfather passed away only a few months after her aunt. However, she took this loss and turned it into her motivation, telling Olympics.com, "I was like, 'I don't think my grandpa would want me to quit right now. He would be very disappointed in me if I was just like, you know what, I'm done.'" She continued, saying, ""With having him in my mind, in my heart, and even my aunt, I was like, you know what, I'm just going to continue my dream and continue to push as hard as I can."

Fans of Jordan Chiles woke up to shocking news on July 1, 2024 when Gymnastics Now revealed on X that the Olympic hopeful had suffered multiple injuries earlier on in the season. "In addition to the AC [acromioclavicular] joint sprain in her shoulder before Winter Cup, she also suffered a partially torn LCL [lateral collateral ligament] and fractured fibula in March doing a double Arabian," the tweet read, in part. Although the tweet went on to reveal that Chiles said she was healed from her injuries, spectators of the sport and diehard fans of Chiles were starting to get nervous that their favorite athlete would either injure herself once more during the games or sadly have to pull out at the last minute.

Chiles' number one supporter, her mother Gina, was quick to jump on her own X account and clear things up some more. "It is FULLY healed, was always non surgical. ... She's back up to speed and even better. ... But ya girl is solid!" Gina wrote. With this sign-off from Mama Chiles, Team USA fans were dropping fire and clapping hands emojis all over the place. One commenter wrote, "Oh good. Panic averted" while another wrote, "Glad you cleared that up. She looked waaay too good at trials to have such an intense injury still doggin' on her anyways!" And with that minor PR crisis out of the way, and Chiles' body restored to health, the gymnast was back in the game and ready to take on the 2024 Olympics — social media rumors be damned!

Although gymnast Jordan Chiles won a silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, she went into the 2024 Paris Olympics with one goal still unticked from her list — to win a medal in an individual category. Chiles and her teammates took home second place in Tokyo for the team final, but this twister and tumbler had still yet to prove herself solo. 

All that changed when it was announced that Chiles had clinched third place in the women's floor exercise, meaning she would take home the prestigious bronze medal. This decision wasn't without controversy, though, as Chiles' win only came after her coaches challenged their protege's initial score. At first, it was announced that Romania's Ana Barbosu was the bronze medallist for the floor event with a score of 13.700. However, once Chiles' two coaches submitted an inquiry into how one of her moves — a tour jeté full — was scored, Barbosu was officially knocked off the podium. 

Chiles' score was raised from 13.666 to 13.766, landing her a spot not only on the highly sought-after podium but also a page in the Olympic history books. Chiles was photographed sobbing in her teammates' arms as the news came that she had done it — she had won an Olympic medal in an individual event. In addition to this personal victory, Chiles also took home a gold medal as part of the all-around team category.