Jordan Chiles opens up on first time she experienced ‘losing love’ for gymnastics

The two-time Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles recently shared her thoughts on her experience of losing her passion for her sport for the first time. She expressed her emotional and personal rekindling with the sport and her journey of coming back.

Chiles is an acclaimed gymnast who won a gold medal in the team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. During the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she won two silver medals and one gold medal. She talked about the first time that she lost her affection for the sport.

The UCLA Bruins athlete appeared for an interview with Nike, and said:

“I probably say the first time I ever felt I actually lost at something wasn't really me losing. It was really me losing the love of my sport. That was around 2017, so I was in high school and it was something that I didn't realize that you can lose. I found the love again, and now I'm here.”

The two-time NCAA champion winner shared further and also recalled her first victory and mentioned that it was back in 2014. She added:

“I was known as the underdog. I still am known as the underdog within my sport. So being in that position, I was just like, 'wow, like, I won! This is crazy. I'm standing on the top of this podium, like 13 years old, don't know what is happening'. I enjoyed it.”

Chiles discussed her personal stories, and how she dealt with both failure and the success. Through these pivotal moments, the gymnast reflected on her resilience and love for the sport.

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Jordan Chiles on appreciating her supporters amid her challenging journey of losing an Olympic medal

Jordan Chiles at the Penn State v UCLA - Source: Getty

Jordan Chiles participated in the floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The US team’s coach, Cécile Landi, submitted an inquiry and her revised score earned her a bronze medal. However, it was later appealed by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation that the inquiry was not made under the deadline and the Court of Arbitration for Sport adjudged Landi’s inquiry to have not been made in time.

The original score was reinstated by the International Gymnastics Federation, and Chiles lost her medal. During an interview with Forbes, the gymnast expressed her appreciation for the support she received amid the challenging time, sharing:

“At first it was really hard to really take that in because of how badly my heart was broken. Everything did go so quickly, but I do appreciate every single person that has been able to come out and say what they needed to say. I do appreciate it so much,” Jordan Chiles told Forbes [0:37 onwards]

Chiles highlighted her profound setback she suffered and forwarded her heartfelt appreciation for all the support she received through social media, news outlets, and messages from her supporters.