VANCOUVER, Wash. — The city of Vancouver, Wash. is hosting a homecoming celebration for local gymnast Jordan Chiles after her return from the Tokyo Olympics where she helped Team USA win a silver medal.
Chiles stepped in to compete on the balance beam and the uneven bars in the team final after Simone Biles pulled out of the competition.
The celebration on Sunday, August 22 will start with a homecoming parade for the Vancouver native at 1 p.m. that'll go south down Main Street from Uptown Village and end at Vancouver City Hall. Spectators are invited to position themselves along Main Street to cheer Chiles and her family on.
Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle will present Chiles with a key to the city in a ceremony outside city hall around 1:20 p.m. Chiles will be taking photos and giving autographs afterwards to the public.
Chiles graduated from Prairie High School in 2019. She dreamed of becoming an Olympian after the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
"I told my mom I wanted to be an Olympian. I didn't know how I was going do that or what sport I was going to do it in," Chiles told KGW earlier this year.
Three years later, her training at Naydenov Gymnastics in Vancouver got serious and she started competing with the U.S. National Team. At the Olympic trials in late June, Chiles finished third and clinched one of the spots on the team roster.
The city of Vancouver said USA Paralympian Yen Hoang and Olympian Kara Winger will also receive keys to the city later this fall. The two athletes graduated from high schools in Vancouver and were invited to participate in the parade on August 22 but are out of the country.
Winger graduated from Skyview High School in 2004. She is a four-time Olympian and competed in the javelin throw event at this year’s Olympics. Winger was also selected as the flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony.
Hoang graduated from Evergreen High School in 2015. She will compete in the 100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter and 1,500-meter track and field events at this year’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
