In 2021, as she was honored with a parade and a key to the city, Vancouver’s Jordan Chiles said, “It makes me realize how much everybody truly supports me. I just appreciate that so much.”
That was after the gymnast returned from the Tokyo Olympics with a silver medal. On Tuesday, Chiles likely added new levels of support, helping the United States win gold in the team competition at the 2024 Paris Games.
The historic nature of the achievement is clear, as Chiles is believed to be the second gold medalist with Vancouver ties. Gretchen Fraser – a skier who was a Vancouver resident at the time — won gold in the slalom and silver in the combined event at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
In subsequent years, Fraser told The Columbian: “We didn’t even have a coach when we went to St. Moritz. Members of the men’s alpine team would take turns coaching us each day. They resented being with us and did pretty much what they wanted. If one wanted to sleep in, he’d show up at 11.”
Since then, the quest for Olympic glory has become more sophisticated. Reaching the gold-medal level and preparing to face the world’s best athletes now requires year-round practice, elite coaching, mental and physical therapy, expert nutritionists, and specialists to oversee every infinitesimal facet of training – regardless of the sport or the amount of public attention it receives.
For Chiles, that training can be traced back to Naydenov Gymnastics in Vancouver. It has extended through her years at Prairie High School, as a student-athlete at UCLA and as a member of Simone Biles’ gym in Spring, Texas. It all culminated with a scintillating performance in the team competition.
“Having this opportunity definitely felt really good,” Chiles said. “Being able to be a part of winning this gold medal . . . it’s just been an amazing experience.”
And it has captured the inherent drama and personal stories that permeate the Olympics. In 2021, Chiles and the U.S. team won a silver medal after Biles withdrew to focus on her mental health. Shortly after those Olympics, Gina Chiles, Jordan’s mother, served eight months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. And last year, Chiles struggled to recapture her Olympic-level form and overcome injuries to a shoulder and a knee.
Then there were the quirks of the Olympic competition itself. During qualifying, Chiles finished with the fourth-best all-around score. But she did not advance to tonight’s individual all-around competition because the rules prohibit more than two competitors from a single nation. Biles advanced with the best score, and Suni Lee ranked No. 3.
“The two-per-country thing is — I don’t like it but, you know,” Chiles said.
Instead, she channeled her efforts into the team competition, exuding enthusiasm and energy that helped inspire her teammates.
“She did the work, and she’s an Olympic champion now,” said Cecile Landi, who is the U.S. coach and Chiles’ personal coach.
When Chiles fell Tuesday during her balance beam routine, she rallied to turn in a strong performance. When she winked at the TV camera early in an exquisite floor exercise, she demonstrated the confidence the American women carried throughout the competition, secure in the knowledge they are the best in the world.
Now they have the gold medals to prove it. Which means it might be time for another parade in Vancouver.
