“The first time that I finally realized that I wasn’t going to be able to be a typical athlete was the judging,” she says in the memoir, according to People. “I’m literally doing almost the exact same thing as any other person, but why am I not getting the same scores?”
As she grew up, she noticed the disparity between her and her peers only deepened.
“Everything was different,” Chiles said. “[Judges] didn’t know what to do with [me] because it was like, ‘She’s talented, yes, but she’s curvy,’ or people would tell me that I ‘look like a man’ or ‘you shouldn’t be here’ or ‘you don’t deserve to be in the sport.’”
The gymnast points to two role models while growing up. Shawn Johnson had a similar body type and Dominique Dawes was the only Black gymnast Chiles grew up watching.
Not only has Chiles noticed racism within the sport, she says judgment also came from social media.
“‘Why are these people telling me all these things when I’m literally doing the exact same thing as everybody else?’” she asked herself about her experience online. “It was definitely something I had to push past.”
Chiles recently competed at the Paris Olympics, where she won one gold and one silver medal. She was awarded a bronze medal, which was later stripped away as judges came back on the original score. Chiles lost her appeal over the decision and said she felt it was a decision made against her as a Black gymnast.
“The biggest thing that was taken from me was that it was the recognition of who I was. Not just my sport, but the person I am,” she said at the event, according to a report from People. “To me, everything that has gone on is not about the medal, it’s about my skin color.”
Chiles is currently enrolled as a junior at UCLA. She said she has been enjoying her time there as a student athlete.
“A lot of people don’t get the opportunity or have the ability to be a student athlete, and I get to embrace that and enjoy that,” she said, per People. “And I continue to strive for greatness every single day. I mean, my team is doing amazing. We’re getting better each and every week, and I am honored to be a part of that.”
