Chiles helps Team USA to gold

Jordan Chiles placed sixth all-around and helped Team USA win gold at her first international gymnastics competition.

At the City of Jesolo Trophy meet held in Italy on Saturday and Sunday, Chiles also earned a silver medal in the individual vault competition. She competed in the junior age group at this meet.

Chiles, 12, is a seventh-grader at Battle Ground’s Pleasant Valley Middle School. She was named to the United States Gymnastics National Team last week, following a training camp in Houston.

Team USA won the junior team competition with 220.0 team points, ahead of Romania’s 212.9 and Italy’s 211.4.

In the team competition at Italy, Chiles tied for second on floor exercise with a 14.20, placed third on the vault (14.90) and eighth on the uneven parallel bars (13.45). In the individual vault, Chiles scored 14.35. She would also have qualified for the individual finals in the floor exercise, but each country was limited to two gymnasts in each of the individual finals.

She trains at Naydenov Gymnastics and Fun Center in Vancouver. She is coached by Erika Bakacs and Dimitri Taskov.