Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles could win the gold medal for best friendship.
The gymnasts, set to compete together for the United States at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, have been at each other’s side through thick and thin ever since they were paired to room together for the world championship team trials in 2018.
In fact, Jordan credits Simone with being a major reason she is still a gymnast. After failing to earn a spot on the Worlds team roster that year, the 23-year-old was ready to throw in the towel and give up on gymnastics altogether.
“’I guess this sport is coming to an end for me because things just aren’t working out for me at all whatsoever,’” Jordan recalled thinking in a conversation with The New York Times. “I just wanted to finish high school and go off to college. But then I had a talk with Simone.”
After that pep talk, Jordan vaulted into a new training plan, joining Simone at her family’s Texas-based World Championship Centre. Little did she know, she would go on to compete in multiple Olympic games.
And Simone isn’t the only one that has her best friend’s back. When Simone had to drop out of the gymnastics team final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to a case of “the twisties,” Jordan not only stepped in for her on the balance beam and uneven bars, but she also defended her friend’s choices amongst harsh judgements from the media.
“There was a lot,” Jordan shared on Peace of Mind with Taraji in 2021. “There was emotions, there was excitement, there was frustration, there was devastation.”
And though Simone took a break from competing after the Tokyo games, Jordan remained her biggest supporter, sharing the sweetest reaction to Simone’s engagement news.
“I call her here and there and I love her to death,” she shared with E! News in March 2022, just over a year before Simone tied the knot with husband Jonathan Owens. “She will always be with me no matter what and I’m just really excited for her.”
Luckily, this unstoppable duo is back together doing what they love after Simone returned to competitions in August 2023 for the U.S. Classic after a two-year break.
“This feels like we’re doing this all over again because we are,” Jordan told People after finishing second at the 2024 Olympic Trials, just behind her bestie. “I’m very proud of her. She is somebody that I’m always going to look up to no matter what it is in life—whether it’s gymnastics or just life in general.”
Ahead of this summer’s Paris Games, keep reading to revisit Simone and Jordans’ friendship throughout the years
Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles launched their friendship as roommates in 2018 when they were both competing in the world championship team trials.
August 2019: Never Give Up
Jordan credits Simone with being a major reason she is still a gymnast.
After failing to earn a spot on the Worlds team roster, the Oregon native was on the brink of giving up.
“I guess this sport is coming to an end for me because things just aren’t working out for me at all whatsoever,” Chiles recalled thinking in a conversation with The New York Times. “I just wanted to finish high school and go off to college. But then I had a talk with Simone.”
Simone invited her to train at the World Championship Centre, which her family owns, and they both competed at the 2019 World Championships.
Jordan posted an adorable photo of herself and her right-hand woman with the caption, “We go together like coffee & donuts.”
Simone ended her floor routine with a hug from her biggest supporter—BFF Jordan—at the Senior Women’s competition of the 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships.
