Jordan Chiles Named One of TIME Magazine’s Women of the Year
Jordan Chiles, of the United States, celebrates after performing on the uneven bars during the women's artistic gymnastics team finals round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Jordan Chiles is one of TIME Magazine’s Women of the Year. And though part of it is about what she accomplished, a great deal of it is about how she dealt with setbacks. The gymnast, after all, won a gold team medal in the Paris Olympics and a bronze for her floor routine — a medal that was later rescinded controversially, something Chiles and USA Gymnastics have appealed. But Chiles didn’t let that stop her.
Instead, she is now back at UCLA and participating in the NCAA gymnastics season. She’s releasing a new memoir, titled I’m That Girl. And she’s refused to lose her joy about life or the sports she has become intrinsically tied to. “In every corner, I have somebody,” said Chiles, in an interview alongside WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson.
Chiles, who received a lot of racially charged hate after she was originally awarded the medal, spoke to TIME about how she’s gotten through it. “At the beginning, it was hard. It was something that I had to just push through and see where it would go. I’m in college now, and I have the ability to perform my life away at UCLA. People are always coming to me and just being like, “You’re always gonna be loved.” So I’m now just able to take what I have, let everybody do the outside work, and just push myself forward.”
Though Chiles wouldn’t commit to the 2028 Olympics, answering coyly, “Mine’s not a yes and mine’s not a no,” when asked if she would participate, the TIME Magazine honor proves she’s already left her mark.
The full 2025 TIME Women of the Year list includes actress Nicole Kidman, WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, artist Laufey, actor Anna Sawai, reproductive rights activist Amanda Zurawski, Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Gambian women’s rights activist Fatou Baldeh, activist and author Raquel Willis, actress Olivia Munn, co-founder and CEO of Bobbie Laura Modi, conservationist Purnima Devi Barman, and Gisèle Pelicot, who this year became a voice for survivors of sexual violence.