American Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, 25, has announced her intention to pursue a spot on Team USA for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The announcement comes after Chiles and her teammates won gold in the team all-around at the 2024 Paris Olympics, followed by the stripping of a bronze medal she earned in the floor exercise due to a scoring appeal.
Chiles revealed her decision in a video posted online, which featured appearances by model Winnie Harlow and musician Normani. The voiceover for the video was provided by basketball icon Michael Jordan, who stated, "Why again? Because the dream is still there. Why continue? Because there's still more to give. Why now? Because not every chapter ends when people expect it to." The video concluded with Chiles revealing a dental grill that read "LA 2028."
Fans and fellow athletes have expressed support for Chiles' announcement on social media. Three of her 2024 Olympic teammates—Suni Lee, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera—have also indicated their plans to qualify for the Los Angeles Games.
Ongoing Legal Battle for Bronze Medal
Chiles is currently involved in a legal process to reclaim the bronze medal from the floor exercise event at the Paris Olympics. In January, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) agreed to hear her case again following an approval from Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court. The dispute originated after Romania's Ana Barbosu appealed the scoring that initially placed Chiles third. After the United States lodged an appeal that would have moved Chiles to third place, Romania's athletic commission filed their own appeal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The IOC initially ruled that the United States' challenge of the scores was submitted four seconds past the one-minute deadline, invalidating the appeal and resulting in the medal being reallocated to Barbosu. However, the Swiss Federal Tribunal has indicated that a review of audio-visual recordings could potentially show the original appeal was within the stipulated deadline, thus supporting Chiles' claim.