Jordan Chiles: “It was my best friend Simone Biles who gave me hope and a new path to my dream when I was about to give it up.”

Jordan Chiles recently recalled a moment from her past, when she almost thought of quitting gymnastics, and how her 'best friend' Simone Biles saved her from this decision. The 23-year-old gymnast was making a keynote speech at the Power Women Summit, organized by news portal The Wrap.

In her speech, Chiles recounted the time in 2018, when she struggled with several issues, and had almost given up hope. In her words,

“In 2018, I was struggling mentally, physically, emotionally, and I began to doubt if this work still had a place for me. The weight of expectations, the fear of failure, the pressure of being perfect, and the hurt caused by being overlooked made me question everything. I learned that the system wasn’t built for people who looked or even acted like me. For so long, I was told that in order to achieve my dream, I had to fit into a space that felt unnatural.”

The 23-year-old also mentioned Biles' role in helping her get back into action. Chiles further added,

"It was my best friend Simone who gave me hope and a new path to my dream when I was about to give it up.”

Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles have been training together since 2019, when Chiles joined the World Champions Center in Spring, Texas. Chiles had previously won a silver medal as a part of the women's gymnastics team from the USA at the Tokyo Olympics.

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Jordan Chiles on Simone Biles' support throughout the Paris Olympics

Jordan Chiles on Simone Biles' support after the bronze medal controversy at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Image for Representational Purposes] [Image Source : Getty]

Jordan Chiles had a great experience at the Paris Olympics, where she contributed to the gold medal won by Team USA in the women's all-around event. Though the controversy around her bronze medal in the floor exercise event dampened her spirits, the 23-year-old gymnast has been grateful to her team, especially Simone Biles.

In a conversation with the YouTube channel 'Chicks in the Office' held in September 2024, Chiles recalled some of her funniest moments with Biles. In her words,

"I feel the funny memories I have is with Simone [Biles], coz there'll be times when I'd be just laying in my bed right .... So I was just, I'd be laying in my bed, by myself like, perfectly fine, on my phone, I'd get a text from Simone, and it'll be like some Tiktok, right? And I'm laughing..... If I don't respond, it'll be like, it's just like, Are you right next to me? So I'm laughing, I swear five minutes later, she'd walk in my room and be like, 'Did you see my TikTok?' I'm like man, YES I DID!"

When Chiles took a break from social media after the bronze medal controversy, Biles tried her best to uplift the former's spirits. In a conversation with 'People' magazine after the Paris Olympics, Biles remarked,

"I know she’s not on social media, but some of the funny things I’ve seen, I said, ‘Okay, Jordan, can I send you something that I think you would really like right now?’ And so I’ve sent her little things, and it was like one of them was these four or five girls guarding a medal, and I thought that was the cutest. And then I sent her Flavor Flav’s bronze [medal he made for her] and then I sent her LeBron [James]’s tweet," she said. (via People)

After participating in the second season of the Simone Biles-led 'Gold over America Tour', Jordan Chiles is now preparing for the upcoming season of 2025. She is also awaiting the release of her memoir, titled 'I'm That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams,' which is expected to be released in March 2025.