'They Were Both My Biggest Supporters' ...

Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles is opening up about grieving the loss of two relatives in the past year

Published Time: 24.07.2024 - 01:31:10 Modified Time: 24.07.2024 - 01:31:10

Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles is opening up about grieving the loss of two relatives in the past year.

In a new interview with Teen Vogue, Chiles, 23, discussed her mourning process and her aspirations ahead of competing in her second Summer Olympics.

The gymnast opened up about the trials and tribulations she has faced since the 2020 Tokyo Games, including the 2023 deaths of her aunt and grandfather. She even confessed to Teen Vogue that she doesn’t “really know where in her healing process” she is.

“Some days I feel great, and then on days like making my second Olympics, I was so happy and then I was sad that they weren’t there to witness it,” the young athlete said. “They were both my biggest supporters, and they are my why.”

She continued: “They wanted this for me, and I wanted to do it for them.”

Along with remarking how her aunt and grandfather were her biggest supporters throughout her gymnastics career, she also noted how her siblings have “had to sacrifice a lot of things,” such as “taking her to the gym and doing all these things for her.” (Chiles is the youngest of five children; she has two older sisters, Jazmin and Jade, and two older brothers, Tajmen and Tyrus.)

“It’s been like that my whole life. But now, I try to shy away from all of that attention. I was that center when I was younger and I want to give everybody else that attention now.” Chiles said, per Teen Vogue.

She also noted that without the support from her family, her path to becoming a gold m -

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edalist may not have happened.

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Two years before she headed to Tokyo and replaced Simone Biles — who stepped down due to mental health reasons — she almost quit the sport after placing 11th in the all-around competition at nationals.“I didn’t think the sport wanted me anymore,” Chiles told the New York Times about that time. “So I went in the opposite direction.”

“It took me a while to actually ask for help because my sport does teach us to be independent," Chiles admitted to Teen Vogue. "But when I finally did, I was at ease with my mental health and being able to say, ‘It’s okay to ask for help.’ "

"I feel more confident in myself, and I’m able to be the Jordan that I’ve always wanted to be when I first started gymnastics," she continued.

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