UCLA gymnast Jordan Chiles turns focus to Olympics after NCAA individual success

The emotional whiplash left Jordan Chiles’ head spinning. She was elated after earning a perfect 10 on bars in UCLA’s last routine at the NCAA championships. She was crushed knowing it still wasn’t enough to extend her team’s season.

But after long, tight hugs and tear-stained cheeks, Chiles left, as her father advised, with her head held high.

“We left with such good hearts,” the sophomore said Thursday night after the Bruins' season ended in the national semifinals.

The perfect routine could also be Chiles’ last in a UCLA leotard, as the Olympic silver medalist now prepares for her second Olympic Games. Chiles, who turns 22 on Saturday, won individual NCAA titles on floor and bars Thursday and will defer her studies next season while training at World Champions Centre in Texas. She could be just the fourth U.S. woman to compete in multiple Olympic Games since 2000, following gold medalists Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles.

Jumping between elite and college gymnastics was once a near impossibility in a sport that often crowns teenage Olympic champions, but Chiles said she’s more prepared for the Olympic chase after her experiences in college.

“If I can be consistent on my events every weekend, I think competing once every three months is going to be OK,” Chiles said. “You know your body is going to be a little rested, although you do have to practice more in elite. But I honestly think this year, I’m just a little more prepared mentally because I know what’s to come.”

Chiles completed a team-high 56 routines for the Bruins with just three earning scores lower than 9.8. She notched five perfect 10s and competed in the all-around every week. Her all-around score of 39.9 on March 11 was tied for the second-highest in program history and finished as the best in the nation this year.

Chiles and Auburn star Suni Lee are two former Olympians returning to the elite ranks after competing in college. Even before Lee missed the final four meets of her college career because of a kidney issue, the reigning Olympic all-around champion said this season would be her last with Auburn. Chiles left the door open for a return.

“I’m just taking it day by day,” Chiles said. “I’m just trying to see how everything turns out, but we’ll see.”

With Chiles’ individual national titles, UCLA moved into a tie with Georgia for the most in the nation all time with 42. In addition to her perfect 10 on bars, Chiles won floor with a 9.9875 and placed second in the all-around with a 39.7125, just 0.05 points behind Utah’s Maile O’Keefe.

The Bruins tallied the third-highest score among the eight national semifinalists but failed to advance to the national final with a third-place finish in their four-team session. The team’s 197.9125 was the highest non-advancing score in NCAA semifinal history and was more than half a point better than the score for Louisiana State, which won the first semifinal.

UCLA will face an uphill battle trying to compensate for Chiles’ consistent all-around scores next season, and the Bruins might also have to replace fifth-year senior Margzetta Frazier, a stalwart on vault, bars and floor who is still considering her sixth year of eligibility.

Former No. 1 overall recruit Selena Harris flashed her potential this season by earning Pac-12 Conference freshman of the year and earning sixth place in the NCAA all-around competition. UCLA also didn’t have Canadian Olympian Brooklyn Moors for the regular season because of a knee injury, and former U.S. national team member Ciena Alipio was limited to the beam because of a preseason thumb injury.

More young talent is coming in coach Janelle McDonald’s first recruiting class with former U.S. national team members Sydney Barros and Katelyn Rosen.

After she wiped tears from her eyes Thursday, Chiles was ready to watch the Bruins from afar.

“I’m leaving knowing that the team has something to go for next year,” Chiles said. “They really want this, and I saw it in their faces today. … Knowing that they have that in their mindset, the years on, they’re going to be solid. They’re going to be great.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.