Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles achieved a career milestone by scoring her first-ever “perfect 10” on the vault, leading UCLA to victory against Nebraska while competing in the Bruins’ home opener of the season as they faced the Cornhuskers at Pauley Pavilion.
The 24-year-old was thrilled with her performance, securing the all-around individual title to conclude the weekend meet. This victory came after she won consecutive Big Ten Gymnast of the Week awards, according to the Daily Mail.
Her vault, a double twisting Yurchenko, earned Chiles her first-ever perfect 10 on the apparatus.
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The move, originated by Natalia Yurchenko, involves a roundoff onto the springboard, a back handspring onto the vault, and finishes with a layout somersault that includes two full twists before landing.
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Because of its complex technique and the power required for its execution, successfully sticking the landing of this move is challenging, which makes achieving a perfect 10 a remarkably rare accomplishment.
With an overall score of 39.675, Chiles led the Bruins to a victory over Nebraska, as UCLA defeated them 197.325-195.25.
Chiles told the Los Angeles Times, “I’m just proud that we were able to turn around from last week and really [show] what we really do in practice.”
The R.C. Rothman UCLA head gymnastics coach Janelle McDonald, told UCLA, “It was very special to see her just nail it here today in the first meet in Pauley. To get the 10 was huge. This was her first 10 on vault. Super exciting way to start the meet, and I’m just really proud of the work she’s put in to be able to nail that vault.”
Now a senior in her final season at UCLA, the two-time Olympian, Chiles, is focused on securing the National Championship title. In 2025, she was instrumental in leading the Bruins to their inaugural Big Ten title and a National Runner-Up finish, placing them just behind the Oklahoma Sooners.
Chiles’s career highlight comes less than 18 months after the Olympic dispute in Paris.
After a contentious decision regarding Romania’s Ana Barbosu at last summer’s Games, the Team USA gymnastics star was stripped of the individual bronze medal she had earned in the floor exercise.
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An appeal by the United States successfully increased Chiles’ score by one-tenth, elevating her from her initial fifth-place standing to third place. This put her just behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and her teammate, Simone Biles.
The situation changed after the Romanian athletic commission lodged its own appeal with the International Olympic Committee regarding the scores, a move that resulted in Barbosu being knocked off the medal stand.
The IOC disqualified the US’s score challenge for being four seconds late. This meant that, Chiles had to return her medal, which was reallocated to the Romanian athlete.
Despite the controversy from her previous Olympic appearance, Chiles is considering a return for the 2028 Games, which will be held on home soil. Regarding the LA Olympics in two years, she commented during UCLA’s media week, “The 2028 Olympics is always going to be in my mind.”
