Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles is turning the page on the drama surrounding her revoked bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, rewriting the narrative of the global sports controversy in her own words, along with never-before-shared details of her athletic career in her new memoir.
Chiles joined "Good Morning America" on Tuesday to discuss her new book, "I'm That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams," which is filled with details of the traumas and challenges that have shaped her personal story.
She told "GMA" writing this book "was to show the world that it took me 23 years to get into this position that I am in right now, being a two-time Olympian, a world champion and many more other accolades. People can say a lot of things about you and create a story, but why not tell your story the right way?"
"My dad always told me every lesson that I learned would be in a book one day," Chiles continued. "I got to create something that was very dedicated to who I was."
Chiles, who initially earned two medals at the 2024 Paris Games -- gold in the team all-around and a bronze in floor exercise -- made headlines last August when the Court of Arbitration for Sport stripped her of her individual bronze medal.
She originally finished fifth in the individual floor exercise final, only to be moved up to third to create a historic first all-Black podium after her coaches appealed the scoring of one of the elements in her routine. In moving from fifth to third, she leaped over two Romanian gymnasts -- including Ana Barbosu, who had already begun celebrating bronze. But despite being scored correctly on review, the Romanian team argued the challenge came seconds too late and Barbosu was reinstated as the bronze medalist.
The U.S. team attempted to submit video evidence showing the challenge was not late, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport refused to look at it.
"I'm doing way better than I was when it first happened," Chiles said reflecting on the medal controversy. "I can only do so much for myself is really focus on my mental," Chiles said, adding that competing with UCLA "has really helped with that."
"I'm gonna continue to fight and understand that I can only control what I can do with myself and let everything else just be on the back end -- whether my lawyer and attorney are doing to continue to fight for that," she added.
Head of panel who ruled against US gymnast Jordan Chiles represented Romania in past casesWhen asked what will happen if she doesn't get the bronze medal back, Chiles explained her perspective. "I can't control what happens at the end of the day, I just know what's right with me -- and going to continue to look forward," she said.
At the Paris Games, when Chiles was briefly on the podium alongside teammate Simone Biles and Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, the trio made history as the first all-Black podium in women's gymnastics at the Olympics.
"Being a part of history is definitely a huge thing. One day I hope that I can show my kids, 'Look what I did, I was a part of history in an amazing sport, being a two-time Olympian,'" Chiles said. "It's really cool that I can show the younger generation, no matter what you do in life and what dreams you have, you can conquer them. Anything can happen. So it's really cool to be in that position."
Chiles added that "standing next to two icons" was "definitely an honor -- I just felt comfortable in that position."
What Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles said about bowing to Rebeca Andrade after Paris gymnastics floor finalChiles took home her first Olympic medal -- silver in the team event -- at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games.
Her additional athletic accomplishments include a gold medal in the team event and silver medals in vault and floor exercise at the 2022 World Championships.
In the new book, Chiles also shares new details about her relationship with food that she said led to an eating disorder and suicidal thoughts.
"Every woman goes through a lot of things whether it is mental health, physical within them and I think understanding our trauma can sometimes make us stronger in ways that not a lot of people can see," Chiles said. "I understand now that I'm older, it was something I was always going to go through no matter what."
She continued, "I was taught to be strong. I was taught to be confident. I was taught a lot of those things by my own mom and just to understand at the end of the day, I'm gonna be able to stand on two feet and be encouraged and seen in millions of different ways."
"Everything I have done has been a gift from God. I've been able to stay resilient and stay independent and just to continue to show the world what it's like to be loved and be grateful," Chiles said.
With just over three years until the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Chiles told "GMA" that while she wouldn't "give a full answer -- it's still in my head."
"I have another year after this season to represent UCLA and then we'll see. I think the biggest thing is just to stay positive," she said. "As an athlete you can mentally do whatever you want to do, but it's the physical part of everything. So making sure that I can continue physically in a way that I feel comfortable."
The Houston native has competed in the NCAA for three years with the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team, where she has won two NCAA championships and two Pac-12 titles.
Outside the gymnasium, Chiles was named one of Time magazine's 2025 Women of the Year.
"I think discovering things outside of my own sport is really cool," Chiles, who loves "flag football and other sports," said. "I'm a very creative girl. I just think it's really cool that I have more to myself than just being an artistic gymnast."
Chiles' new book, "I'm That Girl," is available now.
