“I’m in awe. some1 help me find this cutie. I wanna meet her, so she could teach me a thing or two #goals,” wrote Simone Biles back in 2015, long before she became a global icon who flipped, flew, and rewrote gymnastics history in Rio. What had caught her eye? A short clip of a tiny powerhouse defying gravity through her grace and control. That tiny little gymnast was none other than Joscelyn Roberson, a spark in the making, still years away from the big stage. Fast forward to 2025, the Gymnast is already making a big name across gymnastics. However, who is nurturing her growth? Let’s find out.

Who Is Chris Brooks?

So, who exactly is Christopher “Chris” Brooks? Born on December 19, 1986, in Houston, Texas, Brooks is one of American gymnastics’ most resilient figures, a journeyman turned coach. He went on to captain the University of Oklahoma Sooners men’s gymnastics team and later enjoyed a long run on the U.S. national squad before earning his place on the 2016 Olympic team in Rio de Janeiro.

Brooks’s athletic resume is a practical textbook list for a coach. The athlete-turned-coach is a multi-event All-American in college, a Pacific Rim gold medalist with the U.S. men’s squad, an alternate for the 2011 World Championships team, and a member of the 2015 World Championships team. Finished sixth on high bar, 2016 U.S. parallel bars champion, and all-around & high bar silver medalist, 2017 Winter Cup high bar champion, and much more.

That experience, from junior podiums to the cauldron of the Olympic all-around final, is the foundation of his coaching credibility today. On May 17, 2019, head coach Jordyn Wieber announced the addition of Chris Brooks as an assistant coach for Arkansas Gymnastics. Since then, Brooks has been a part of the Arkansas team. Now, let us have a look at how he is shaping Roberson.

What Is Chris Brooks’ Role With Joscelyn Roberson?

Since transitioning full-time into coaching, Brooks has served as an assistant on the Arkansas Razorbacks staff, playing a key role in attracting and nurturing elite talent like Joscelyn Roberson. Formerly a member of Simone Biles’ World Champions Centre, Roberson chose to step out and explore her full potential elsewhere. Now training under the guidance of Chris Brooks at Arkansas, her immediate goal is to make a strong return to mainstream competition at the upcoming U.S. Classics.

Talking about her coach, the athlete explained, “I really miss the grind of it all. So I’ve been so excited to get back. “I’m going to stay here at Arkansas and train with Chris [Brooks], who’s going to be my main head coach for the elite season. He was so excited about it. He’s so pumped. I just love having that in the gym every day, just the same excitement that I have about Elite gymnastics. He has the exact same excitement and is ready to go on this journey with me.”nAs an assistant coach at Arkansas, Brooks worked with Roberson during her 2024 NCAA freshman season and has been listed among the key mentors guiding her decision to return to elite competition for the 2025 U.S. Classic.

What makes Brooks a natural fit for the Roberson’s comeback is a blend of technical detail and first-hand elite experience. The athlete-turned-coach understands all of the physical demands as well as the psychological pressure of returning to the highest stage possible. Under his command, Roberson has decided to focus on the elite US meets only for now and soon prepare for the LA 2028.

Who Is Chris Brooks’ Wife?

Chris Brooks is married to none other than Jordyn Wieber. Yes, you heard that right — Wieber, the 2012 Olympic team gold medalist, now serves as the head coach of the Arkansas Gymnastics team, while Brooks works alongside her as an assistant coach. The two were longtime friends from their elite gymnastics days before announcing their engagement in October 2021. They later tied the knot in a stunning ceremony in Bentonville, Arkansas, in May 2023. “To become husband and wife is so exciting,” Wieber said.

She further added, “It means we are committing to building a special and meaningful life together, and to make the commitment in front of our favorite people at our wedding meant the world to us.. We live and work at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and have super busy schedules, so it made planning so much easier knowing that our venue and vendors were local.”

The couple first met in 2011 while competing at the World Championships in Tokyo and began dating six years later. Both of them are a power couple when it comes to coaching, as they provided dedicated training to the young stars.

Do Chris Brooks and Jordyn Wieber Have Kids?

Olympic sweethearts-turned-coaches Jordyn Wieber Brooks and Chris Brooks just stepped into their newest, and perhaps most rewarding, role yet: parenthood! Back on June 4, 2025, the couple welcomed their first child, as they revealed on their Instagram handle, “She’s teeny tiny, has lots of hair, and has already made life so much more wonderful.”

Their announcement melted hearts across the gymnastics community, featuring tender photos from the delivery room, from grandma’s first cuddle to Chris holding his daughter. Well, we forgot, her name is Gigi Renee Brook.

Who Are Chris Brooks’ Parents?

Lastly, let us examine his origin. Chris Brook’s father was Larry Brooks, who was also a gymnast. Each day, Larry Brooks would return home from work, change clothes, and then head to the gym to coach for a few hours. “He didn’t get paid. He coached for a long time so I could train tuition free,” Brooks said. His father was his bedrock upon which he made his career. He was happy training with his father. However,  tragically, Larry died in an automobile accident back in 2008 when Chris was in the early stages of his senior-career climb.

“A lot of things changed,” coach Mark Williams said. “He thought about his dad a lot. ‘What does my dad think I should do with my life?’ We had some of those conversations. I said, ‘I think he wants you to be as good as you want to be. We’ll give you that path, you just have to follow that.'” Although his father’s passing was difficult for him, he took a brief detour but soon regained his composure and returned to his professional career.