Jordan Chiles Breaks Down the Gymnastics Move She Made Famous on the Balance Beam

The 2025 SI Swimsuit Issue cover model walked through how to execute the Wolf-Kino.

Jordan Chiles was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Tinye Swim. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

Two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles has both a gold and silver medal to her name, which she earned alongside the U.S. women’s national gymnastics teams in 2024 and 2020, respectively. And even before she was a competitor in the Summer Games, the athlete was making a name for herself on the mat.

Chiles, who made her debut at the American Classic in 2013, earned an all-around silver medal at the U.S. Nationals in 2017, where she recovered a near fall off the balance beam and created a new skill at the same time.

“I did [the Wolf-Kino] back in 2017,” Chiles explained while on the set of her SI Swimsuit Issue photo shoot at The Boca Raton in Boca Raton, Fla. “I so happened to do it on accident though, but I did train it after I competed it and it was pretty cool.”

What is the wolf-kino?

While on the set of her photo shoot that would land her one of the covers of this year’s magazine, Chiles proceeded to draw out a balance beam on a white board to demonstrate the move, which starts in a squat position with one foot extended (a “wolf”), leading into a triple turn.

“I ended up facing this way at the very end and everybody around me was like, ‘Ohhh!’ because they didn’t know what was happening,” she added. “Now everybody calls it the Chiles.”

As for what it takes to flawlessly execute the move, Chiles says a tight core and spot turning, in which you keep your eyes focused on one specific point as you turn, are both key.

On the SI Swimsuit set with Chiles

In between takes posing for photographer Ben Horton, Chiles sat down with our camera crew to chat about everything from the most famous contact in her cell phone to learning how to use her voice and growing to love her body. She also expressed a wish for the general public to understand how grueling gymnastics truly is.

“I think the biggest thing that people misconceive is, really, knowing what gymnastics is, and they don’t understand how hard our sport is,” Chiles stated. “It’s definitely something that is hard on your body. As gymnasts, we have more of an impostor syndrome than a lot of people just in the real world. Being [on] the pro side, the athlete side, a businesswoman—it’s a lot. It is very time-consuming, but I’m very thankful for it.”

Check out Chiles’s full 2025 SI Swimsuit Issue gallery from The Boca Raton here.