PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 30: Jordan Chiles of Team United States competes in the floor exercise during the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Team Final on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on July 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Getty Images
“That girl” is officially coming back to the gymnastics floor.
Two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles announced her comeback and run for the 2028 LA Olympics on Wednesday. The Olympic gold and silver medalist shared her announcement in a social media post narrated by NBA legend Michael Jordan, captioning the video “LA 2028…why not.”
“Why again? Because the dream is still there. Why continue? Because there’s still more to give. Why now? Because not every chapter ends when people expect it to,” Jordan’s script read.
Chiles last competed on the elite gymnastics stage at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she won gold with Team USA and competed in highly contested and legally scrutinized floor exercise final.
Wednesday’s announcement comes just a day after UCLA Gymnastics introduced Chiles as the gymnastics team’s student coach for the upcoming season, spurring speculation that Chiles would split her time between coaching and elite training.
Just a day later, that speculation was confirmed.
With her decision, the 25-year-old joins 2024 Olympic teammates Suni Lee, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera back on the elite track. Like Lee and Carey, Chiles looks to make her third-consecutive U.S. Olympic gymnastics team.
Of the gold medal-winning “Golden Girls” from Paris 2024, only Simone Biles has yet to announce her intent to return to the sport.
With LA 2028 bringing the first summer Olympics on U.S. soil since Atlanta 1996, gymnastics has already enjoyed a wave of surprising elite comebacks, most notably that of 2013 American Cup Champion and UCLA star Katelyn Ohashi. Chiles is just one of many to join the mix.
Though Chiles did not elaborate on the timeline of her return, Tuesday’s announcement positions the 2027 elite gymnastics season as a realistic goal for her comeback.
“The answer is simple – why not,” Chiles concluded.
Leave a comment