The Beauty Of Becoming With Jordan Chiles

When Jordan Chiles answers our Zoom call, she’s glowing. She has just moved into her first home, juggling boxes and press tours with the same bright spirit that carried her from the Olympic podium to the cover of Sports Illustrated. “I finally found my safe space, my circle,” she says, exhaling into the moment. “I’ve just been really enjoying life. That’s really all I can say, just enjoying life—enjoying the ability to wake up every morning and just, you know, thank God for waking me up another day—and continuing to push for dreams and goals that I have.” It’s a glimpse into where she is today: settled, softer and more grounded than the spunky gymnast the world saw at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. Now 24—with a New York Times bestselling memoir, I’m That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams, and a UCLA return under her belt—Chiles is writing the next chapter, one that extends far beyond medals.

When asked what joy looks like for her right now, Chiles doesn’t hesitate: “Peace. Waking up and not feeling like I have to carry so much weight on my shoulders. Allowing myself to breathe.” It’s a striking reflection from someone who has carried the expectations of a nation. She was just 20 when she stepped into the Tokyo Olympics, helping to secure silver for Team USA alongside her close friend Simone Biles. Paris 2024 was supposed to be her coronation: team gold with Biles and Sunisa Lee, plus a historic all-Black podium on floor exercise. Instead, she was stripped of her bronze medal after a late score inquiry—a ruling that still feels cruel for an athlete who had delivered the performance of her life. But Chiles refuses to let anyone’s score define her. She’s pursuing legal avenues to reclaim the Olympic bronze medal, and she’s living out the very persistence that mirrors her message. If Tokyo was about stepping up and Paris was about resilience, today is about healing. “I’m learning I don’t always have to be in survival mode,” she explains.

The gymnast who once electrified arenas with her firecracker energy is embracing something new. She calls it her soft-girl era. “I was always seen as this ball of energy,” she says, a smile breaking across her face. “But now I’m all simplicity, calmness and softness. I’ll be 25 next year, and that doesn’t mean I’m any less me. It just means I’m growing.”

That evolution is at the heart of where Chiles stands today: still an Olympic medalist; still a dazzling floor performer, a ­culture-shifter and a devoted sneakerhead; but also a young woman writing her own definitions of strength, sisterhood and success. She’s learning to slow down and appreciate the life she is building off the mat. “I didn’t get to do a lot of stuff when I was younger,” she says. “So establishing this now, as I’m older—it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Part of that healing has come from the bonds of sisterhood she has built, both inside and outside the gym. Her bond with Simone Biles has been well documented, but Chiles lights up when talking about other unexpected connections that also keep her grounded. “Normani? Oh my gosh,” she says with a laugh, recalling a recent conversation with the singer. “She literally looked at me and said, ‘Girl, I know exactly how you feel.’ And it was like, Wow, somebody outside of gymnastics sees me. That was so special.” It’s those moments that remind her she’s not alone in navigating the pressures of being young, Black and brilliant on a public stage. “Community is everything,” she says. “It’s what keeps me whole.”

And the moment when she realized that she’d be okay after the Paris heartbreak? “I probably would say when I got to do my Sports Illustrated 60th-anniversary Swimsuit Issue, celebrating my body and my confidence on my own terms,” she reflects. “That was one time I was finally just like, Wow. People are still supporting me.” That experience, she says, taught her how to release what she couldn’t control.

Her book helped, too. Writing her memoir meant reliving childhood trauma and emotional scars left by a coach early in her life. For the first time, she opened up about the darker chapters of her life. For Chiles, strength now means honesty. “There were days I just sat there crying,” she admits. “It was hard, but it was freeing, too. Because you can’t heal what you keep hiding.” Her honesty has struck a chord with readers—and especially with young Black women who see themselves in her willingness to speak the truth out loud.

Today, Chiles is back competing for UCLA; but her vision stretches further. “Beyond the gym, I’m really venturing out into different worlds,” she says. She quotes Megan Thee Stallion with a grin: “‘This year I did my big one. Next year I’m going bigger.’”

Perhaps her proudest venture yet has nothing to do with medals: Chiles has built Shero, a mentorship collective for young athletes, activists and dreamers who are navigating sports and self-discovery. “Shero is my heart,” she says. “I don’t want others to go through the same struggles and pain as I did without support. Let’s strive for greater together. I want girls to know they don’t have to choose between being strong and being soft. You can be both.”

This season isn’t about medals or milestones for Chiles. It’s about moving at her own pace, savoring her becoming and holding her loved ones close. It’s about chasing the power of her dreams while protecting her voice and identity—even in spaces where others might question her belonging. During our conversation, she couldn’t stress enough that wearing a crown is not about standing on podiums but about knowing you are “that girl,” no matter where life places you.  After years of chasing perfection, Chiles is embracing a different rhythm—one rooted in gentleness, trust in herself and the reminder she carries with her every day: “You are enough. Just as you are. Don’t ever let the world make you believe otherwise.”

In those words you can hear both the survivor and the dreamer, the athlete and the woman, the girl who grew up under the bright lights and the one learning to light her own way. Jordan Chiles is still flipping, still fighting, still rising, still shining, but on her terms now. And that just might be her greatest routine yet.

CREDITS:

Photographed by Tayo Kuku Jr.

Styled by Michy Foster

Hair: Tiffany Daugherty using The Doux at Celestine Agency

Makeup: Kenya Alexis at OPUS Beauty

Nails: Ginger Lopez using V Beauty Pure at OPUS Beauty

Photography Assistants: Colin Jacob & Nicole Alvarenga

Styling Assistants: Diana Valdovinos & Ariana Garrett

Production: The Morrison Group

Production Manager: Cecilia Alvarez Blackwell

Production Assistant: Ernie Torres

Post Production: Tayo Kuku Jr. & Retouch Library

Location: Smashbox Studios