How Jordan Chiles Used the Deaths of Her Aunt and Grandpa as Inspiration for 2024 Olympics
Olympian Jordan Chiles has found a way to turn her pain into purpose.
Amid her impressive run at the 2024 Paris Games, Chiles, 23, is opening up about how the deaths of her aunt and grandfather in 2023 propelled her to work even harder.
“The moment that I truly dug deep into my thoughts of being like, ‘OK, Jordan, what are you doing?’ I would probably say after Pan Ams,” Chiles told Olympics.com in an interview published Monday, August 5. “I was like, ‘What are you doing? You came out to Pan Ams, had no training, didn’t really do that well all year and you’re still on podiums, doing everything that you’re doing.’”
In October 2023, Chiles returned home from Chile with three medals after competing in the Pan American Games.
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Her success led the standout UCLA women’s gymnastics team member to keep going and follow her Olympic goals.
“When I came back, after losing my grandpa, 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 said. “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.’”
Since the Summer Games in Paris kicked off on July 26, Chiles has won a bronze medal in the Women’s Floor Exercise and gold in the Women’s Team Final. The last eight months have reminded Chiles that she’s stronger than she thinks she is.
“It’s taught me that as many things that have been thrown at me in life,” she shared, “that God created me to be the strongest person that I needed to be.”
As gymnastics wraps up in Paris, some fans are already speculating whether Chiles will represent Team USA in 2028 when the Olympic Games take place in Los Angeles. While she’s staying mum for now, the Seattle native teased a big announcement could be coming Tuesday, August 6.
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“You never know,” she told Olympics.com about her future plans. “I might have the four letters [UCLA] across my chest. You might see me in '28."
If teammate Simone Biles had her wish, she’d ask for fans to celebrate the present and not worry about what could happen in the future.
“You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics,” Biles, 27, wrote via X on Sunday, August 4. “Let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for.”