Whether it's deciding to try for a third Olympics or asking Michael Jordan if he'd narrate the announcement of her comeback, Jordan Chiles is letting one question drive her these days.
“Why not?”
"Coming back for my third Olympics was solely just to see how far my body can take me. Age is just a number in my eyes and I think, having the opportunity and if your body allows it, why not try it?" Chiles told USA TODAY Sports. "I've never seen myself at 100% so I wanted to be able to do that.
"How far can I go? How far can my body take me physically, mentally?" she added. "Physically is what really got my brain working."
Jordan Chiles is back in the gym
Chiles returned to UCLA after Paris, and finished her NCAA career in the spring. She then took some time off before announcing in September
that she was making a comeback, and would serve as a student coach for the Bruins while she trained at UCLA.
Chiles doesn't plan to compete until the U.S. Classic in July 2027, so she's been spending her time doing "basic work," mostly focusing on execution.
"Making sure everything is clean and solid before I start doing the bigger skills," she said.
Though she doesn't want to get specific about what skills she's planning, Chiles did say she's been playing around with some things she did when she was younger.
"There's some things that I've kept and been working on," she said. "Again, it's just the beginning of the process, so I've just been taking it day by day, month by month, and just seeing how everything turns out."
Olympic success brings other opportunities
Chiles has two-plus medals from her first two Olympics. A team silver from Tokyo and a team gold from Paris. She also won a bronze on the floor exercise that remains in limbo because of a protest by Romania, though a decision by a Swiss court suggests she will eventually be declared the rightful winner.
Her success has offered her opportunities well beyond her sport. She's gone to Hollywood premieres, been named one of TIME Magazine's Women of the Year in 2005 and done deals that allow her to promote causes that appeal to her. That includes Hyundai's Mark of a Warrior campaign, part of the carmaker's Hope on Wheels nonprofit dedicated to ending childhood cancer.
"It was an easy yes," Chiles said. "I've obviously dealt with cancer within my family ... and I love children.
"With any partnership or any campaign, I look into the authenticity of what they're trying to do and what they're trying to represent," she added. "With Hyundai, they're trying to stop and put awareness over cancer and funding research and all these things, and truly making a difference within the world."
Jordan Chiles on Michael Jordan
One of Chiles' other partnerships is with Nike, which led to her becoming friendly with that other Jordan.
Chiles was named for Michael Jordan, a fact that was mentioned a time or 12 in the leadup to the Paris Olympics. At some point, Jordan reached out to Chiles and the two exchanged several messages. When she was developing the idea for her comeback video, her mother suggested she reach out to Jordan and asked if he'd narrate it.
"I was like, 'I don't know. I can ask.' So I reached out," Chiles said.
Because ... why not?
A few days later, Jordan sent a voice memo of him reading the script Chiles had sent him. The other ideas she had for possible narrators immediately went back on the shelf.
"I take his name to heart, and I told him that and he understands that," Chiles said before breaking into a laugh. "It's a Jordan thing. We have each other's backs."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gymnast Jordan Chiles' 'why not' mantra propelling her toward LA Olympics
