After the disappointment surrounding her Paris Olympics floor exercise bronze medal, Jordan Chiles stepped away from elite gymnastics and returned to the college scene. During her collegiate career at UCLA, she won four NCAA titles, earned 23 All-America honors, and claimed the 2026 AAI Award as the nation’s top senior gymnast. But as soon as her college career came to an end, Chiles made her next move by announcing in September that she would pursue a third Olympic appearance at the 2028 LA Games. Now, a month later, she has opened up about her decision to return, revealing that her reasons go far beyond medals or redemption.

Speaking at the Forbes 30/50 5-Year Anniversary Summit, Chiles sat down with Forbes associate editor Alex York to discuss her ambitions and how she defines success. In a clip shared by Forbes on Instagram on October 20, the Olympic gymnast explained that people often measure her achievements by the medals she has won and the way she represents herself. But she sees things differently.

“It’s not about the medals, it’s not about the Olympic Games that I go to, it’s not about any of that, it’s about the potential that I know that my body can give,” Chiles said. She also hopes her journey will encourage younger athletes to pursue their dreams without allowing age to dictate their choices. “It shouldn’t be something that, you know, should take away your goals or your dreams,” she said, explaining why she began considering another Olympic campaign.

Rather than viewing the end of her college career as a natural stopping point, Chiles decided she still had more to give. “And so for me that is…, why not? Why not do 28?” she added. The 25-year-old also made it clear that she does not believe she has reached the ceiling of her abilities as a gymnast. While she feels she has grown into the person she wants to be, she still wonders how much more she can achieve in competition.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen myself at 100% as a gymnast. I’ve seen myself at 100% as a person, but as an athlete, you never know how much potential you can give,” Chiles explained. That uncertainty is part of what makes another Olympic run appealing to her. 

To explain her thinking, Chiles pointed to basketball stars LeBron James and Michael Jordan, whose careers have spanned years of competition and numerous major achievements. “If you can be like a LeBron James or a Michael Jordan who can go to so many championships or even be able to play with your own son, like, why can’t we do the exact same thing?” she asked. Chiles wants to challenge the idea that reaching her mid-20s means she should be ready to retire.

But is her return also about seeking redemption after the controversy surrounding her Paris Olympics bronze medal? Chiles addressed that question, too, making it clear that she is not returning simply to prove a point.

Jordan Chiles explains why LA28 is not about Paris Olympics redemption

During the women’s floor exercise final in the Paris Olympics, Chiles initially received a score of 13.666, placing her fifth. Her coach, Cécile Landi, submitted an inquiry challenging the difficulty score, arguing that an element in Chiles’ routine had not been credited correctly. The judges accepted the inquiry and raised her score to 13.766, moving her into third place behind Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and Simone Biles of the United States. 

However, the celebration did not last. On August 10, 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the inquiry had been recorded four seconds beyond the permitted one-minute deadline. The decision reinstated Chiles’ original score, moving her back to fifth place and elevating Romanian gymnast Ana Maria Bărbosu to third. The International Olympic Committee subsequently reassigned the bronze medal to Bărbosu.

Given everything that happened in Paris, questions about whether Chiles wants redemption at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are understandable. But during her recent conversation with Alex York at the Forbes 30/50 5-Year Anniversary Summit, the gymnast made it clear that this is not what is driving her return.

“People were asking, oh, is it because you’re doing, you know, it’s a redemption or is it because you are trying to prove a point? And it’s no, it’s not any of those things,” Chiles explained. She acknowledged that the controversy remains in the back of her mind, but insisted that neither redemption nor proving her critics wrong is the reason she wants to compete again. Instead, Chiles wants to discover how much more she can achieve as an athlete.