OKLAHOMA CITY – Just days after Jordan Chiles became the NCAA floor court champion in spring 2023, she already knew what music she wanted to use for her next college routine. I could even imagine the choreography and some of the moves.
There was just one small problem.
Chiles wasn't sure if she would ever get that chance.
He was planning to take a break in the 2024 season to focus on making the Olympic team and didn't know what the future held beyond that. She just wasn't sure if returning to UCLA for her postponed junior season was in her plans.
But after Chiles, now 23, helped Team USA win gold in Paris and was unknowingly at the center of a global on-court bronze medal controversy that remains in dispute, He decided that his college career was not over. And after starring on the Gold Over America Tour alongside her fellow Olympians in the fall, Chiles made her official return to Westwood last month.
It didn't take her long to regain her place as one of the NCAA's best and most dynamic athletes.
On Saturday, during the Bruins' second meet of the season and less than two weeks after finishing the routine with assistant coach BJ Das, Chiles went viral almost immediately with his Prince-themed performance at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad. She received a near-perfect score of 9.975 for a routine filled with difficult tumbling and intricate, infectious choreography.
JORDAN CHILES PUT ON A SHOW 🤩 pic.twitter.com/m5ThqTs1zr
— espnW (@espnW) January 12, 2025
“Honestly, when we started working on this, I thought, 'If I come back, I want to come back with a big hit,'” Chiles told ESPN. “I don't want to come back and say, 'Oh, hey guys, I'm back.' No, I want to come back with something that people will enjoy. Artistic gymnastics is very well known just for the gymnastics part, and I wanted to be able to bring art back into the sport.” , so I felt like Prince was the best thing to do for that. Who wouldn't want to be able to sit and eat popcorn at a gymnastics competition and feel like they were at his concert?
Chiles didn't have much left to accomplish at the NCAA level before returning.
During her sophomore season, she won the NCAA individual title on floor and uneven bars, and finished as the overall runner-up. In two years at the collegiate level, he was a nine-time All-American and received eight perfect scores of 10.0. Not to mention, he has now won multiple Olympic medals and is a three-time world medalist.
But despite all that, in addition to his desire to finish the race, there was something pulling Chiles back and he just couldn't shake it off.
“I had unfinished business,” Chiles said. “I know you're probably thinking, 'Jordan, you have NCAA titles, what do you have left to prove?' But I want to be able to win a natty with this team and at least come back with individual titles as well. I felt something was missing and I knew that my story was not over.
“Yes, I've already done a lot within UCLA, but I feel like there are things I could show UCLA and appreciate.” [the experience] a little more. “I want to be able to leave a legacy at UCLA, just like many of my other teammates have, and continue to represent in any way I can.”
But while the rest of his Bruin teammates were training together in the fall on campus, Chiles was traveling around the country on tour. He stopped by here on a few occasions when he had free time, but he could barely pay as much attention to his college routines as most of his classmates. But because she and Das had started talking about their floor routine more than a year and a half earlier, they were able to start exchanging ideas before Chiles returned.
Her 2023 routine was based on '90s hip hop and was a clear fan favorite. Chiles felt he could push back his 2025 edition even further and “give the older generation something they can enjoy.” He had initially been introduced to Prince's music by his uncle when he was younger and even checked with his parents to see what they thought about the choice.
They knew it would be well received.
“I was like, 'Are you sure Is this going to be something?'” Chiles said of the conversation. “And they were like, 'Yes, 100 percent, yes.'”
Set to a medley of Prince's hits, Chiles and Das watched YouTube clips of Prince's performances to determine which moves to use and exactly on which specific beats. Chiles returned to campus before “Meet the Bruins” on December 14. While his teammates showed off their new routines, Chiles performed parts of his elite routine. Then he formally got to work.
It took Chiles and Das three days to put it together. By the end of that week, with lots of adjustments and training to get Chiles' stamina back to a level suitable for performance, he was almost complete. After a brief vacation break, the two finalized the routine, just two days before UCLA's first meet against California and Oregon State on Jan. 4.
“I learn very quickly,” Chiles said of the abbreviated schedule. “It wasn't a big deal that I got my entire routine in three days.”
After the first meet, in which UCLA placed third, Chiles couldn't understand why his phone was suddenly blowing up with alerts. But he soon discovered that the Bruins team account had shared the video of his routine. She was nervous that some might criticize her choice of music, but was delighted to find that there was no such response. Instead, everything he saw was positive (a rarity in online discourse in 2025) and fans seemed to love the routine.
Due to the early reception, I was excited to perform it in Oklahoma City and hoped the fans would dance and even sing along.
“It's like when you go to a concert and because you've already seen so many TikToks [from the tour] “You know what song they're about to perform,” Chiles said. “It's like everyone knows what's coming and everyone is collectively excited about it. For me that calms me down a little bit because it won't just be silence. [from the fans] at the beginning and I hope there will be a lot of energy from the beginning.
In a meet that the team dedicated to those affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles, the Bruins won their session over Kentucky, Ohio State and Arkansas with a 197.550 and Chiles won the floor title. It didn't take long for the routine to gain traction online.
“The choreography. I'm exhausted watching this routine,” former gymnast John Roethlisberger said on the ESPN broadcast. “Simply from start to finish, the quality of performance [is] next level.”
“That was so fun,” added six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman.
But while Chiles is honored to “represent Purple Rain and all that,” her biggest goal remains to help No. 11-ranked UCLA win a team championship this season. After several challenging years for the program, she believes the team is capable of making it happen. Chiles said she has been impressed by what she has seen in practice and by the closeness and cohesion of everyone on the team.
Head coach Janelle McDonald believes Chiles is one of the main reasons the team has such potential, and is a key component of the team's inclusive and supportive culture.
“She's only been back with us for a few weeks, but she has the ability to elevate the atmosphere around her,” McDonald told ESPN on Friday. “She brings this energy and this passion to the table every day that inspires the people around her. And it's really cool this year to see that she's taken all the experiences she's had and incorporated them into a leadership role. I've I've seen all these moments in the last few weeks where he's stepped up and had conversations with people to improve their mindset and confidence.
“It's a testament to her character and her love for the sport and this team that she wants to come in and make this good transition and make a positive impact from the beginning.”
