Jordan Chiles is as driven as they come and during the summer of 2020, her drive and preparation paid off. As a member of the US Olympic Gymnastics team, Chiles filled in for Simone Biles who was unable to compete citing mental fatigue. Jordan Chiles helped lead the US Gymnastics team to a silver medal in Tokyo, and she has been on a tear ever since.

Blavity spoke with Jordan Chiles about her career thus far. On her time in Tokyo and preparing to fill in for Simone Biles she said “You have be prepared for anything in that moment. We were a very strong team but it was definitely a huge adjustment when Simone wasn’t able to perform. Let it be known that Simone Biles is a legendary talent and immediately makes us a better team.” On any advice that she received prior to filling in, Chiles said “There’s a lot of advice and encouragement that we give one another. Some of it is making sure that we try to stay calm. We always tell each other that we got this, we know how to do this. We also remind each other that we had been waiting to be on a huge stage like this our entire lives. We just needed to go out there and have fun.” She went on to say that “we knew we has Simone’s support behind us the whole way through.”

After the Olympics in Tokyo, Chiles enrolled at UCLA and has immediately made an impact on on their women’s gymnastics team.

In February of this year, UCLA took on Utah, and Jordan earned a perfect floor score of 10.000. This was another great accolade for her to add to her litany of accomplishments.

“You know, as somebody who just came from the realm of the Olympics and went into college, it was something that I was really excited about. During that competition, I really just wanted to go out there and have fun with everything. It wasn’t because we were going against Utah or that I had a competitor that I’ve been teammates with on the Utah team, it was about all of that combined. It really made the experience fun. Getting a perfect floor score was simply icing on the top and a testament to my training.”

Jordan is an athlete that really covers all of the bases in gymnastics. When asked about her favorite apparatus she said ” I actually don’t have a favorite. It’s rare that you hear that all gymnasts like all the disciplines the same, but I train to really excel on each apparatus at the highest level.”

With as many years as Jordan has been doing this, you also experience your fair share of lows and lessons. In an interview with the LA Times, Chiles shared that she felt like she failed her team and family after faltering on the bars during the Olympic trials.

Today she seems to have gotten some more perspective saying “I don’t like disappointing people. But I shouldn’t have put all of that pressure on myself.” She went on to say “I learned in retrospect that I shouldn’t doubt myself because I’m literally at the Olympics on the biggest stage I could ever be on. I’m doing what I know I’ve always wanted to do, I have to give myself grace.”

When she isn’t practicing, Jordan is chasing her other goals as well as following some of her favorite artists. One of her favorites is budding star Normani, who surprised Jordan on Access Hollywood with a video message last summer.

On getting a video message from the “Wild Side” singer, and how important sisterhood is to her, Jordan said ” Sisterhood plays a huge role in my life. I’ve always been be able to lift others up in a way so Normani sending that video over was a dream come true for me. It felt like reciprocity and it was really a dream come true. I’ve been following her since X Factor, she has been a consistent source of inspiration for me, especially since she is also a former gymnast.” She went on to tout how much Normani’s individuality encourages her saying “She’s not the next Beyonce or Mary J Blige, or Missy Elliott. She’s the first of her kind, and that’s what I aim to be as well.”

With as much as Jordan has accomplished thus far, it’s amazing to think that this is still only the beginning. But it is, and she has some goals she’s looking to smash saying ” Competing and helping UCLA win is a huge focus for me as well as excelling academically. I grew up having an entrepreneurial mindset instilled in me and I seek to get businesses off of the ground as I continue to ascend in gymnastics. As for international competition, I definitely hope to compete at the World games this summer and I still have my eyes set on the 2024 Olympic games, but it’s important I put in the work every day and not lose sight of the goals at hand.”

If we know anything about Jordan Chiles, this do list will be checked off and it’ll be just another perfect score for the star.