Jordan Chiles Brings Dancing with the Stars to the Gymnastics Mat with New Routine
Jordan Chiles is back to school!
The Olympic medalist made a triumphant return to the mat for her senior year at UCLA — and opened the NCAA gymnastics season with a near-perfect performance seemingly inspired by her time on
Dancing with the Stars.
At the Best of the West Quad at the University of Washington on Saturday, Jan. 3, Chiles dominated the meet against Cal, Oregon State and Washington, winning every event and taking the all-around title with 39.725, the highest score by a Bruin in six years, according to the Big Ten conference.
But it was her floor exercise in which she scored a 9.925 that had fans — and her teammates — dancing along in support.
Set to Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Stevie Wonder, the routine featured the gymnast’s trademark soaring tumbling passes as well as some cheeky choreography.
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Chiles, 24, cut loose in the routine, as her teammates mimicked her moves and cheered alongside the mat.
The Olympic gold medalist also wowed on the vault (9.9), uneven bars (9.925) and had a career-high tying score (9.975) on the balance beam.
Chiles’ efforts were rewarded with her seventh career Big Ten Gymnast of the Week recognition, which came just weeks after she finished in third place on season 34 of DWTS
.
In November, Chiles and her partner Ezra Sosa spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about the duo’s standout performance on the Nov. 18 episode, which earned them a perfect 30/30 score.
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“That’s my first perfect score in anything,” Chiles said at the time. “And I’m so happy it was on Dancing with the Stars. Now I actually feel more confident in myself of getting a perfect score in my sport, which is pretty crazy to say.”