Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles are more than just Olympic gymnastics teammates, they’re good friends who can count on each other for mental health check-ins.
“I mean, I brought it up some days [because some] are better than others when you’re at practice,” Chiles, 23, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her partnership with Oikos, Activia and Too Good & Co. drinks. “I think the real thing was we understand each other, whether we have to talk to each other or not, we’ll ask each other if we’re OK.”
While Chiles “really” doesn’t speak to Biles, 27, about mental health in depth, it is still crucial that they are doing alright.
“Mental health is such a huge thing right now, so we want to make sure everybody’s OK in each and every way,” Chiles added, noting she’s been focused on her own wellness as she ramps up training for the Paris Olympics next month. “But when it came to that, I kind of kept that to myself. It was more so, I told my parents or my siblings because I really didn’t know [if I’d try to nab an Olympics slot]. I was like, ‘What do I do?’ But yeah, once it got closer, I was like, ‘Nah, this is what I’m doing. This is how we put everything into this.’”
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Chiles and Biles have trained together since 2018 before they both made the U.S. Olympic team at the 2020 games in Tokyo. In the middle of the competition, Biles ultimately withdrew her eligibility due to mental health struggles.
The two gymnasts are both hoping to make the team for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“We’re just taking it day by day. We’ve been doing routines on each and every event,” Chiles told Us. “We don’t want to be a hundred percent now because we do have three months out until the actual Olympic Games to where we [need to] give our a hundred percent then. So I would say right now about 75, 80 percent [now and] that extra 20 percent will definitely be there in Paris for sure.”
As she trains, Chiles is making sure that Biles and their fellow gymnasts are also ready for the competition.
“As we’re training, [for] a lot of us, this is our first time [and] others, it’s, like, our second time,” she said. “I think for me now is just being able to help my teammates in a way to make sure they’re on the right track or whatever, and making sure that they feel good within themselves.”
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As part of Chiles’ training, she makes sure to eat healthily. Oikos, Activia and Too Good & Co.’s respective drinkable yogurts and dairy drinks have made it easy for her to get necessary nutrition in between practices.
“I’m hustling in the gym every single day, 24/7. It’s long weekends, long weeks. So with this campaign, I was really happy I was able to be a part of it,” she said. “Being able to get the right nutrients within your body and put it out into the world that it’s OK to have those times where you may have to take a snack on the go or whatever. So with Too Good & Co. smoothies, not only do they have 3 grams of sugar in them, but they also have 10 grams of protein. So having that ability to kind of contrast between the two of putting that in your system and feeling confident within yourself.”
Chiles was joined by soccer star Kristie Mewis, who is also training for the Paris Olympics, for the campaign.
“I feel like anything that we can do throughout the day to make our lives easier is just super helpful,” Mewis, 33, told Us of Activia Dailies. “These are just such a quick snack on the go, and they’ve been super helpful to add into my routine.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
