The Tokyo Olympics are in her rearview, but Jordan Chiles isn’t done making history yet. On Friday, Aug. 19, Chiles and fellow Tokyo medalist Jade Carey became the first US Olympic female gymnasts to follow up a season of college gymnastics with a return to elite competition, per NBC Sports. In an Instagram post, the 21-year-old gymnast made it clear she feels her career is just getting started.
“This granny ain’t done yet 👵🏾,” she captioned a collection of photos from the 2022 US Gymnastics Championships. Her performance on Friday backed up her assertion — she ranked within the top five in all four events. She also revealed she has her eyes set on the 2024 Paris Olympics. In an interview with Olympics.com, she revealed how excited she is to be back in competition.
“Making my return is honestly the most amazing thing. I’m here for myself. I just want to be able just to go out there and have fun,” Chiles said. “The lead-up to coming back to championships actually started right after qualifications in Tokyo. I just thought it would be cool just to see if I could come back for however long I can and just to see how everything turns out.”
She is the moment.@ChilesJordan’s floor routine from Day 1️⃣ of Senior Women’s competition at #OOFOSChamps. pic.twitter.com/2HVt8kFTC6
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) August 20, 2022
So far, her return is wowing fans. In addition to pulling off a full twist on the vault, she also did her floor routine to the tune of Lizzo‘s “Truth Hurts.” The official USA Gymnastics Twitter account shared her powerful performance alongside a caption that sums up Chiles perfectly. “She is the moment,” they wrote.
Chiles most certainly is the moment, and her return to the world of elite competition is sure to open the door for even more women to continue their careers as gymnasts even after they’ve left their teen years behind.