“She was my mentor, that she was my big sister, and now she is like my ride or die best friend,” Jordan Chiles had said about Simone Biles once. After surviving an abusive coach, Chiles turned up to Simone Biles, who brought her to the World Champions Centre in Texas for further training. She had a very short time in hand to get herself ready for Tokyo. But, with Simone Biles by her side, she made it. In the Olympic arena, Chiles’ luck gave her a chance to return the favor to Simone. As Biles backed out with ‘twisties’ in the team final, Chiles stood up for her. Eventually, she left the mat with the team silver medal. Despite stepping into the shoes of Simone Biles on that occasion, Chiles believes that in reality, she will always remain miles away from that. 

After the Tokyo Olympics, the 23-year-old elite gymnast has climbed up to the rank, earning laurels. Eventually, that made her a veteran in the sport. However, in a rare show of humility, Jordan Chiles has yet to consider herself a leader, compared to Simone Biles. “I can give (advice on) what to do, what not to do, how to take care of yourself … but at the end of the day, I’m not Simone Biles who has done 850 world championships,” she said recently to NBC. With that, the former world champion also mentioned her learning spree with Simone Biles, which she still enjoys. But Jordan also stated that she thoroughly enjoys the leadership duties.  

“I think I’m a good leader – being a veteran as they always say is pretty cool,” Jordan Chiles expressed. With such a role, she is ready to share her experience with the newcomers in Team USA. But her awe for Simone Biles is something that she will probably carry all the way through. “Being able to have somebody like her and her ability and what does, like she’s the GOAT…I don’t care what people say, she is legit the GOAT,” Chiles had given her ultimate verdict on Simone once. And she thinks like that for a reason.

Jordan believes that Simone is someone who “changed the culture in this world…changed the culture in gymnastics with a lot of things.” And that has a profound impact on her as well. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I am right now truly,” Chiles had stated. All these points toward one thing, she can think of Simone only as a guiding star whom she can never overcome or equalize. But taking a cue for her idol has helped her make a niche for herself.

After surviving a shoulder injury this year, Jordan Chiles still stands as one of the most favored entries in the Team USA gymnastics squad for the Paris Olympics. Yet this time, the reason is more than just a work of fate. Rather, the determination to prove herself is in hindsight. 

Jordan Chiles follows Simone Biles’ lead once again 

After her Tokyo Olympics endeavor, Jordan Chiles wrote a beautiful note for her gymnastic pal, Simone Biles. “To my best friend, just thinking about everything we have gone through together from us getting mad at each other for no reason to laughing at jokes, to bringing the love of this sport back to me with your help words can’t explain how proud I am of you,” remained the words to describe the relation between two. In fact, according to Gina Chiles, Jordan’s mother, had not there been Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles would not have continued her gymnastics dream after school. 

Taking that legacy forward, at the moment, all Jordan can think about is her preparation for the US Olympic gymnastics trials. Pointing to that, Jordan said, “It’s going to be great no matter what because this time I’m going to do it for myself”. But, at the same time, Chiles has learned to take that easy, maybe because she has seen Simone Biles’ mental health crisis very closely.

“My titles and who I am will never be taken away from me whether I make the team or I don’t. I know that I did everything that I could to make it to Tokyo and I’m going to do everything I can to make it to Paris,” Chiles said about making it to the team. But that is not going to take the determination away as she pointed out, “I’m that girl. I’m not here to play around. I’m here to give it my all and (give) what I felt like I wasn’t able to do in Tokyo.” Meanwhile, the best-friend duo will meet each other in the Core Hydration Classic before the trials. All eyes will be on the XL Center in Hartford on May 17-18.