Jordan Chiles showed an immense amount of grace at the NCAA gymnastics championships by cheering for her Olympic rival, Ana Barbosu. Both gymnasts tied on the floor exercise at the tournament.
Chiles and Barbosu have a history that goes back to the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the Summer Games, the American was initially placed fifth in the floor exercise. However, after an appeal regarding her difficulty score, she was awarded an increase in her points, which put her in third place on the podium, pushing Barbosu down to fourth.
But after this, the Romanian team appealed to the CAS for Sport, stating that Chiles’ inquiry was four seconds late, which again positioned her fifth and pushed Barbosu to third.
Almost two years after this controversy, the two gymnasts faced each other for the first time at the collegiate championships, where they competed in the floor exercise, with Jordan Chiles representing the UCLA Bruins and Barbosu representing the Stanford Cardinal.
Both of them tied on the floor with a 9.900, and during the performance, the American showed a great gesture of sportsmanship, as she cheered and clapped for her Olympic rival during her performance. Take a look at the heartwarming moment between the two athletes here.
Jordan Chiles and her team recently won the Big Ten regular season title after their showdown against Maryland on February 27.
Jordan Chiles weighed in on winning the Big Ten regular season title
After proving their prowess during the Big Four Quad meet, where they defeated Iowa, Ohio State, and Maryland, the UCLA Bruins won the Big Ten regular season. After this feat, Chiles sat for a post-meet press conference, where she shared her take on her team’s performance.
Lauding her team, she said they pay attention to everything they do during the event and that she is proud of them.
“I would say kind of, you know, going off of that is just really paying attention to what we do each and every event. I think the biggest thing is that we all know individually what we have to do. And we’re a very competitive team. I mean, obviously, yes, did today turn out not as what we thought 100%. But, you know, that just makes us understand that not everything has to be perfect. We don’t need to be perfect in the moment. We just have to continue to hit and do what we need to do. So, I’m very proud of this team,” said Jordan Chiles.
The UCLA Bruins and Jordan Chiles will next be seen on the mat on March 14, where they will compete against Utah at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
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