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“Yes, I am that girl,” Jordan Chiles tells PS, with a sense of rooted confidence. When it comes to gymnastics, Chiles embodies a fiery spirit — strong, fierce, powerful — and her passion for her sport shines throughout her performances. In a similar style to teammate Simone Biles, who has spoken of her love of the quote “And still I rise” from Maya Angelou in her documentary, both phrases are symbolic of empowerment and resilience.
“It’s not to be cocky,” she says during a May interview for Chiles’s partnership with Invisalign. At the time, she didn’t know what laid ahead of her at the Paris Olympics — but she was feeling optimistic. The expression was an act of affirmation. “I’m going to wake up like, ‘Hey, you know, you’re right — I am that girl.’ I’m going to do everything that I can do to make sure I can be solid to who I am. I’m going to be authentic. I’m going to be unapologetic; like, that’s just who I am. I’m just going to continue to shine and do everything that I need to do.”
Chiles has made good on that promise to herself. A few weeks after sitting down with PS, she’s walking away from the Paris 2024 Games with one gold medal (in the Women’s Artistic Team All-Around) and her first individual bronze medal (in Women’s Floor, after a scoring inquiry into the difficulty of one of her moves bumped her up from fifth place to third). In addition to her skill, Chiles has gotten attention for her highly infectious energy, affinity for dancing, and her genuine camaraderie with her teammates.
Here, Chiles shares more about how she handles the pressure of a professional career in gymnastics, her favorite memories of Olympics past, and who she turns to when she needs a confidence boost. (Yes, her list includes Beyoncé.)
How Jordan Chiles Handles Stress
In training and performance, Chiles is known as “the consistency queen,” she says. But she acknowledges that even she needs a break from focused practice sometimes. “When it comes to nerves or trying to focus too hard on something, I’ll dance it out. I’ll listen to music. I’ll go talk to somebody. I’ll walk away,” she says. “I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure I’m not too focused on that certain thing. I’ll pray about it a majority of the time, and just let God do its work.”
Chiles adds that “the biggest thing with the mental health aspect is to make sure you talk to somebody, because that is definitely something that helped me. Whether it’s a sports psychologist, sometimes having a listener, rather than a speaker, can help you. Finding that person, or finding that support system, that can help you and guide you in the right direction.”
She also makes sure to enjoy herself. “I’m always about fun,” she says. “Like, people always just ask me, what do you do? Have fun. That’s all you gotta do is just have fun.”
Jordan Chiles’s Favorite Olympics Moments
It’s safe to say that winning bronze at Paris — her first individual Olympic medal — will go down in her personal history books as a favorite Olympic moment, but she also has fond memories of Tokyo. “My favorite memory is also my most emotional memory, which is also my biggest stress memory: just being there for my bestie,” Chiles says.
Her bestie, of course, is none other than, Simone Biles, and Chiles is referencing when Biles withdrew from the event in Tokyo due to experiencing the “twisties”. “Biles and Chiles was a huge thing during that time frame, and I was happy that I was there for her, and to be that support system that she needed in that moment. I will cherish that forever. But, you know, I did also say, ‘Miss me, don’t ever do that to me again,’ because that was very stressful. Never thought I was going to have to fill some huge shoes like that. But, I did it with love and kindness, and I supported her as much as she supported us,” Chiles says. “We talk about it all the time. That’s forever going to be in history books, and being a part of that is memorable.”
Where Jordan Chiles Finds Her Confidence
Yes, Chiles’s “I’m that girl” affirmation was inspired by another big performer. “It’s really Beyoncé’s motto,” she says. She was inspired by the Renaissance tour. “Knowing what [Beyoncé has] gone through as an artist and when she was younger — people coming at her, body-shaming her. Yes, she is an icon and a legend, but she still went through human things,” Chiles says.
That’s the reminder she wants to impart to the next generation: never give up, no matter what happens. “Always believe in the power of your dream, because your dreams are very, very powerful,” Chiles says. “Go out there, and shine bright. Use every inch of your mind, your soul, your body, whatever it is, and continue to be you. Be authentic. Be unapologetic, be you, and just encourage everybody around you.”
Jade Esmeralda, MS, CSCS, is a health and fitness staff writer. A lifelong martial artist and dancer, Jade has a strong passion for strength and conditioning, sports science, and human performance. She graduated with a Master of Science degree in exercise science and strength and conditioning from George Washington University.