Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles is one of the GOATS of American gymnastics, alongside Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Aly Raisman, Kerri Strug and more iconic athletes. After competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics (where she helped Team USA earn its fourth-ever team gold medal) Chiles, 23, made a triumphant collegiate comeback with UCLA Gymnastics–earning her tenth 'perfect 10' of her collegiate career during a recent meet against 5th-ranked Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 1.
Chiles performed a stellar floor routine to a mash-up of Prince songs (including "Let’s Go Crazy"). What's more–she completed her flawless routine while still recovering from illness. Chiles was battling the flu and a 104-degree fever the previous week before competing. She told USA Today, "It’s not fun, but I knew in that moment that no matter what, how strong I am and I have people around me that can help me and support me. At the end of the day, we’re going to just keep pushing forward and I knew what my role was."
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Her high-energy performance ended with confetti and an even bigger surprise–her score helped UCLA secure its win over higher-ranked Michigan State with a final score of 197.300-197.200–just a tenth of a point ahead. And her fans were ecstatic about her perfect routine. "Now that was a flawless performance! No jitters, no trips, if there were any mistakes they went unnoticed! She showed so much heart and joy! I am proud of you, baby girl! Keep shining! 😍🤗🤩," one commented. Another wrote, "She looks like she’s having so much fun and is at ease during this whole performance love to see it🤩!!!" And another fan perfectly summed it up: "Give this star ALL HER FLOWERS ❤❤❤❤❤❤FLAWLESS AND FUN DOING IT...."
In an emotional Instagram post, Chiles thanked her UCLA teammates for helping her find her love of competing again after she was controversially stripped of her individual bronze medal during the 2024 Paris Olympics following a challenge from a judge. "Words can’t describe how grateful I am to be a part of such an amazing team!! @uclagymnastics you guys have made me re-love competing and being out on a competition floor and I thank you🫶🏽," she wrote in the caption.
She ended the post with a nod to her Olympics disappointment, adding, "...it’s been 6 months and I finally found the joy again❤️ to the alum, fans, and student-athletes thank you 🙏🏽."
Chiles is currently in her junior year at UCLA after sitting out the 2024 collegiate gymnastics season in order to train for the 2024 Paris Olympics, per USA Today. And she has lots more gymnastics ahead of her as a student athlete.
She shared with Us Weekly about the transition, "I honestly told myself starting my freshman year when I went school that I was just a normal kid going onto campus,” she explained. “I literally told my teammates, I told people in my classes: 'Just treat me like a normal college student. Yes, I went to an Olympic Games and all this stuff, but I’m still just like you guys. I’m getting an education, I’m getting a degree.'"
It wasn't even February, so she wasn't expecting what came next. 
The hug came first, the 'yes' took a few moments more. 
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