The 11-time Olympic medalist tells PEOPLE that she has been texting and FaceTiming with her friend and fellow teammate.
Anna Lazarus Caplan is a writer-reporter for PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work previously appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, Eater and other publications.
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Simone Biles is lifting up Jordan Chiles in the wake of the gymnast’s fight to keep her bronze medal.
In an interview with PEOPLE about her partnership with haircare brand K18, Biles says that she has been in frequent touch with her friend amid the ongoing saga, which began after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of two Romanian gymnasts on Aug. 10 who had protested Chiles’ score in the floor final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“We’ve been FaceTiming, texting, just being girls,” Biles, 27, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I did talk to her on one of the days, and I was like, ‘You know what, Jordan, you have to feel all these feels. Don’t let these emotions stop you. This will be the healthiest way to get all of this out.’ ”
The 11-time Olympic medalist — who has been an outspoken proponent of the benefits of therapy — says she is intent on supporting Chiles, but adds that “at the end of the day,” the Vancouver, Washington native is “still that girl.”
“We saw what you did,” Biles says of Chiles. “And it’s an unfortunate circumstance because something like this has never happened before and it’s truly a shame, but we wish all three girls could get the medal and unfortunately in gymnastics that’s not the case.”
She continues, “Do we think they did the correct procedures to come to this ruling? No. That’s really why we want that justice for Jordan and why we’re going to keep supporting her and uplifting her.”
Biles lauds the 23-year-old’s vibrant “personality and grit and her heart” — all of which she says will be on display when the Gold Across America Tour kicks off next month.
Billed as a “pop concert-style spectacle,” Biles is headlining the event that will showcase her G.O.A.T. tendencies, as well as the high-flying talent of other Team USA gymnasts, including Chiles, Jade Carey, Hezly Rivera, Fred Richard, Paul Juda and Brody Malone.
Until then, Biles is resting her injured calf — she’s still wearing a boot — and using some of her downtime to encourage her Spring, Texas training partner.
Simone Biles Loves Her Hair, Thank You Very Much: ‘We Don’t Have to Look Like Everybody Else’ (Exclusive)
“I know she’s not on social media, but some of the funny things I’ve seen, I said, ‘Okay, Jordan, can I send you something that I think you would really like right now?’ And so I’ve sent her little things, and it was like one of them was these four or five girls guarding a medal, and I thought that was the cutest. And then I sent her Flavor Flav’s bronze [medal he made for her] and then I sent her LeBron [James]’s tweet.”
Biles adds, “So just things to uplift her and know that she still has that support all-around.”
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