Do we like them?

Do we like Jordan Chiles?

Our score: 8 out of 10. No harmful words or company turned up, and there's real mentoring and sportsmanship, though the record is thinner on causes than on medals.

Chiles started gymnastics at six and was dreaming of the Olympics by 13. She grew up an LA girl in her own telling and called UCLA her dream school. She made the Tokyo team in 2021 and came back for Paris in 2024, where a Beyoncé-inspired floor routine got everyone talking.

The big stoush is the Paris floor bronze. Her coach lodged a score inquiry that lifted her onto the podium. The Court of Arbitration for Sport later ruled it came after the one-minute deadline, so the bronze went to Romania's Ana Barbosu. A newly surfaced recording reportedly shows the inquiry came 47 seconds after the score was posted, and in January 2026 Switzerland's supreme court sent the case back to CAS. It isn't decided yet.

The nasty part wasn't hers. She copped racist abuse online after the ruling, and USA Gymnastics condemned the attacks on her as baseless and hurtful. Being on the receiving end of that counts for nothing against her. What she did herself was say she wanted justice, and that it was about her peace, not just the medal.

On the harm check, we found nothing: no campaigning against anyone's rights, no conspiracy theories, no shady films or platforms. Her public statements are about her own case and her sport. The record on wider politics is thin, and we won't guess where she stands on things she hasn't said.

The good stuff is real. At a UCLA meet she cheered for Barbosu, the gymnast who now holds the bronze she lost, and said she wouldn't take anything away from her. She's also building SHERO, a mentorship program for female athletes, and earlier spoke about charity work with Girl Scouts and hospitals.

So the verdict: she passes both tests, and a comeback story with this much sportsmanship in it is easy to barrack for. The only caveat is that the record on causes is lighter than the record on medals. If CAS does hand her a second Paris medal, that will be a good day.