Jordan Chiles built her career on focus, but it did not come naturally. In school, teachers worried she might not even pass as she drifted from one thing to another, unable to stay still. “I wasn’t able to sit still,” Chiles later admitted. At home, her father, Timothy Clarence Chiles, saw the same restlessness. She moved constantly, flipping and grabbing whatever was within reach, and when he tried to stop her, her mind would go blank. That was when he recognized the signs of ADHD and began channeling her energy into something more structured.

On June 10, on the Ball in the Family Podcast with Lonzo & Gelo Ball, Chiles opened up in her own words about just how intense that energy used to be. “I have bad ADHD. When I was younger, my ADHD was off the walls. I was bouncing off of refrigerators. The back piece of like your couches when you were younger. I would walk on that, do cartwheels and handstands. I would just randomly cartwheel on the side of the sidewalk. Didn’t care if there was cars.”

Jordan Chiles explained how that constant movement followed her everywhere, even in sports and school. In baseball, she could hit well, but staying still in the outfield was another story. Her mom and dad got her into sports (T-ball and track) to help harness her energy, but it still wasn’t enough.

As she played T-ball in the outfield, she said, “I used to play T-ball, and I was a hitter. Great home runs, everything. But then in the outfield, all I would do is do cartwheels and pick dandelions.” So, it didn’t work.

Eventually, her family saw that she needed something that could match her energy instead of trying to contain it. That was when gymnastics entered her life differently. Jordan Chiles joined a recreational gymnastics class in 2007 at the age of six. After just one class, her constant movement and natural ability, especially her cartwheels and handstands, stood out so much that coaches asked her to try out for their pre-team.

By 2011, Jordan Chiles qualified for the Junior Olympic Nationals. In 2013, she advanced to elite-level gymnastics. In 2014, she joined the Junior U.S. National Team and soon after made her first international appearance. Looking back, Chiles explained how everything shifted once she stepped into the sport. Gymnastics finally gave her energy a purpose and changed everything, even outside the gym.

“That’s when I got really connected to it because I was able to actually focus in school. I was able to actually do my homework because the energy that I was putting into gymnastics was draining me so bad that it was like, okay like she can focus. I always say gymnastics saved my life because I don’t know what I would be doing if this sport wasn’t a part of me.”

Not to mention, Jordan Chiles has been candid about her ADHD before, including during a 2024 conversation with Elle Magazine. Growing up as one of five siblings, she had energy to burn and nowhere to put it.

“I had really bad ADHD when I was younger,” Jordan Chiles told Elle Magazine. “It was getting to the point where my teachers were concerned whether I was going to be able to pass school. So I always say, ‘Gymnastics saved me.’ Being able to get her energy out was “something I’m very thankful for. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I wasn’t in this sport.”

But over time, the joy she once felt in standing out for something she loved started to fade because of external pressure

Simone Biles helped Jordan Chiles rebuild her confidence

In 2018, the weight of it all began to settle in. Jordan Chiles finished 11th in the all-around at nationals, a result that shook her confidence. She later admitted she started to feel like the sport “didn’t want her anymore,” and for the first time, walking away from elite gymnastics felt like a real option. It was not just the scores that hurt, but everything surrounding them.

She felt increasingly isolated, questioning her place in the sport. “I didn’t think people around me wanted to see this beautiful black girl in a leo anymore,” Chiles said. During that same period, a former coach made harsh remarks about her body and appearance, calling her “fat” and even “double head,” a comment tied to her hair. Those experiences chipped away at her confidence.

By the end of the year, stepping away seemed like the only way forward. That was when Simone Biles stepped in, inviting Chiles to move to Texas and train with coaches Cecile and Laurent Landi. As Chiles told Wrap.com, “It was my best friend Simone who gave me hope and a new path to my dream when I was about to give it up.”

From there, her journey began to turn. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she helped the United States win gold in the team all-around and earned bronze in the floor exercise, a result that has since been part of ongoing review and legal discussion in the sport.