Shilese Jones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shilese Jones
Jones in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Shilese Jones
Nickname(s)	Shi
Country represented	United States
Born	(2002-07-26) July 26, 2002 (age 23) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2018–present
Gym	Ascend Gymnastics Buckeye Gymnastics (former)
Head coach(es)	Sarah Korngold
Assistant coach(es)	Brett Wargo
Former coach(es)	Christian Gallardo
Medal record Women's artistic gymnastics Representing the  United States World Championships Gold 2022 Liverpool Team Gold 2023 Antwerp Team Silver 2022 Liverpool All-Around Silver 2022 Liverpool Uneven Bars Bronze 2023 Antwerp All-Around Bronze 2023 Antwerp Uneven Bars Pan American Championships Gold 2018 Lima Team FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd World Challenge Cup 1 1 0

Shilese Jones (born July 26, 2002) is an amazing American gymnast. She is known for her powerful routines and winning many medals. Shilese helped the USA team win gold at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. She also won team gold at the 2018 Pan American Championships.

Individually, Shilese earned silver medals at the 2022 World Championships for her all-around performance and on the uneven bars. In 2023, she won bronze medals in the all-around and on uneven bars at the World Championships. She is also a two-time U.S. National Champion on uneven bars (in 2022 and 2023). In 2022, she was also the U.S. National Champion on floor exercise. Shilese currently trains at Ascend Gymnastics.

Early Life and Start in Gymnastics

Shilese Jones was born in Seattle, Washington. Her parents are Sylvester Jones and Latrice Bryant. She has two sisters. Shilese started doing gymnastics in 2006 when she was just four years old. Sadly, her father passed away in 2021 after being sick for a long time.

Junior Gymnastics Career

Starting as a Junior Elite

Shilese became a junior elite gymnast in 2014. This means she was one of the top young gymnasts in the country. Her first big competition was the American Classic. She finished fourth on vault, which was a great start!

Later that year, she competed at the U.S. Classic and the National Championships. She kept working hard to improve her skills on all the different events.

Growing Stronger in 2015

In 2015, Shilese continued to shine. At the U.S. Classic, she placed sixth in the all-around, on vault, and on floor exercise. At the National Championships that year, she finished tenth in the all-around.

Medals as a Junior

In 2016, Shilese earned her first national medals! At the National Championships, she won bronze medals on both vault and floor exercise. This showed how much she was growing as a gymnast.

In 2017, Shilese competed at the U.S. Classic, finishing seventh in the all-around. Unfortunately, she had to miss the National Championships that year due to an injury.

Senior Gymnastics Career

Becoming a Senior Gymnast in 2018

Shilese became a senior gymnast in 2018. This meant she could now compete against the best gymnasts in the world. She had a fantastic start at the American Classic, winning gold medals in the all-around, on vault, and on floor exercise!

At the U.S. Classic, she placed fourth in the all-around. Then, at the National Championships, she finished fifth in the all-around. Because of her strong performances, she was added to the senior national team for the very first time!

Soon after, Shilese was chosen to be part of the team for the Pan American Championships in Peru. The U.S. team, with Shilese's help, won the gold medal!

Competing Internationally in 2019

In 2019, Shilese traveled to Italy to compete at the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy. Her scores on vault, beam, and floor helped the U.S. team win another gold medal.

She also competed at the U.S. Classic, where she placed third on vault. Shilese was named as an alternate for the Pan American Games that year. She later had to withdraw from a world team selection camp due to an injury.

Challenges and Comebacks in 2020-2021

In 2020, Shilese was added back to the national team. She was set to compete in Italy again, but the event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that year, she competed in a friendly competition in Japan.

In 2021, Shilese competed at the Winter Cup. She finished second in the all-around and earned bronze medals on uneven bars and floor exercise. She also joined Simone Biles's Gold Over America Tour, which was a fun way to share gymnastics with fans across the country.

World Championship Success in 2022

The year 2022 was a huge one for Shilese! She started by helping the U.S. team win gold at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy. She also won silver on uneven bars and bronze on balance beam there.

At the National Championships, Shilese finished second in the all-around. She became the national champion on uneven bars (sharing the title) and won the national title on floor exercise!

In October, Shilese was chosen for the 2022 World Championships team. She helped the USA win their sixth team gold medal in a row! Individually, Shilese won a silver medal in the all-around, showing she was one of the best gymnasts in the world. She also won a silver medal on uneven bars.

More World Medals in 2023

Shilese continued her amazing performances in 2023. She was again selected for the 2023 World Championships team. The U.S. team won their seventh consecutive World team title, with Shilese competing on all four events!

In the all-around final, Shilese performed beautifully and won the bronze medal. She also earned a bronze medal on the uneven bars. She finished seventh on balance beam and fifth on floor exercise, showing her strength across all events.

2024 Season and Olympic Trials

Shilese started 2024 strong at the Core Hydration Classic. She placed second in the all-around, won gold on uneven bars, and silver on floor exercise.

However, she faced challenges leading up to the 2024 Olympic Trials. She had to withdraw from the U.S. Championships due to a shoulder injury. She was still allowed to compete at the Olympic Trials. On the first day, while warming up, Shilese injured her left knee. She bravely chose to compete only on uneven bars, where she scored the highest of the day! Unfortunately, a medical evaluation confirmed she couldn't compete on the second day, ending her chance to make the Olympic team. Later, Shilese shared that she had torn her ACL and meniscus, which are important ligaments in the knee.

Competitive History

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior
2014	American Classic		29	4	24	32	27
	U.S. Classic		14	7	23	23	9
	National Championships		20	12	20	33	14
2015	U.S. Classic		6	6	14	19	6
	National Championships		10	9	14	10	14
2016	U.S. Classic		19	7	17	38	18
	National Championships		7		14	20
2017	U.S. Classic		7	7	18	16	4
Senior
2018	American Classic				4	12
	U.S. Classic		4		6	11	5
	U.S. National Championships		5		6	10	7
	Pan American Championships
	Worlds Team Selection Camp		8		5	9	8
2019	City of Jesolo Trophy
	U.S. Classic		9		11	14	10
	U.S. National Championships		12	5	14	11	9
2020	Friendship & Solidarity Meet
2021	Winter Cup			4		13
	U.S. Classic				24	23
	U.S. National Championships		12		5	24	18
	Olympic Trials		10		14	10	10
2022	City of Jesolo Trophy		4
	U.S. Classic					11
	U.S. National Championships					11
	Paris Challenge Cup					5
	World Championships					R1
2023	U.S. National Championships					4
	World Championships					7	5
2024	U.S. Classic					4
	Olympic Trials		WD

See also

In Spanish: Shilese Jones para niños