Jordan Chiles has spoken, finally answering the question she left hanging at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships last month: She’s going for LA 2028.
The 25-year-old Olympic gold medalist announced Wednesday, Sept. 2, through a bespoke short film narrated by none other than Michael Jordan himself, that she’s returning to elite competition with her sights set on her third Olympic Games.
Following her stint on Dancing With the Stars and her new role as a student coach for the UCLA Bruins women’s gymnastics team, Chiles made it clear that she’s not done with elite gymnastics just yet. With NBA great Michael Jordan providing the narration, the Chicago Bulls legend asks why she would return, why she would continue and why now.
As footage shows Chiles walking along the beach, Jordan explains that her dream isn’t finished and that she believes she still has more to give. Chiles then reveals a custom grill on her teeth that reads, “LA 2028.”
The video ends with Chiles delivering the simplest possible answer to why she’s returning to Olympic competition.
“Why not?” she says before revealing her custom grill.
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Michael Jordan Was the Perfect Voice for Chiles’ Comeback
There’s arguably no one more fitting to narrate a comeback video for Chiles than Michael Jordan himself.
Chiles was named after the basketball legend, making his participation in the video more than stunt casting or a celebrity favor. Few athletes know reinvention and comebacks quite like Michael Jordan.
Like Simone Biles, Tom Brady, Aaron Donald and Jordan himself, all of whom have at one point in their careers returned to their sport at the top of their game, Chiles is returning to gymnastics competition with nothing left to prove.
She was part of the U.S. team that won silver at the Tokyo Olympics and then a member of the gold-medal-winning Paris 2024 team. Following her gold medal in Paris, Chiles returned to UCLA to finish her college career as one of the most decorated athletes in Bruins history, winning four NCAA individual championships and earning 19 perfect 10s.
Chiles returns to competition as both a college student coach and one of the most followed and decorated women’s gymnasts competing today.
Jordan Chiles isn’t just returning for LA 2028. She’s reinventing herself once again.
Jordan Chiles Is Coming Home to Los Angeles
@sidelineedit Jordan Chiles has her eyes set on the LA28 Olympics! Here is her ucla floor routine #jordanchiles
♬ original sound – Dahlies
What better place and time to do just that?
The 2028 Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles, a city where Chiles spent the past several years building a life and a legacy at UCLA. Still connected to UCLA through her new role, her return for LA 2028 feels almost inevitable.
The Olympics will be held practically in her backyard.
For Chiles, competing in Los Angeles would also provide the opportunity to experience an Olympic Games on home soil after competing internationally in Tokyo and Paris.
It would be a very different kind of Olympic experience for a gymnast who has already experienced the highs and lows that come with competing on the world’s biggest stage.
Fans Are Already Dreaming About a Golden Girls Reunion
Jordan Chiles’ Olympic return video had fans tumbling into the comment section.
One wrote, “Just casually narrated by Michael Jordan. GOAT things.”
Another added, “The way I would faint if Michael Jordan called me ‘THAT GIRL.’”
“Name a more iconic pair of Jordans…we’ll wait,” commented another.
Now that Chiles has announced her intention to compete at the LA 2028 Olympics, fans are already gearing up to see one of their favorite squads, the Golden Girls, reunite one more time.
Suni Lee has already announced her return to training. Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera are also pursuing spots on the LA 2028 team, meaning four of the five members of the Paris gold-medal-winning team have now set their sights on Los Angeles.
Only one member of the Golden Girls has yet to state her intention for LA 2028.
Simone Biles, see you in LA?
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