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 22) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Residence	Edgewood, Washington, U.S.
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
Years on national team	2018–present (USA)
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 American artistic gymnast. She has won gold medals with her team at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. She also helped the U.S. team win gold at the 2018 Pan American Championships.

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

Early Life and Gymnastics Start

Shilese Jones was born in Seattle, Washington. Her parents are Sylvester Jones and Latrice Bryant. She has two sisters. Shilese started gymnastics in 2006 when she was four years old. Her father passed away in 2021 after a long illness.

Junior Gymnastics Journey

Starting Elite Gymnastics: 2014–2015

Shilese became a junior elite gymnast in 2014. She first competed at the American Classic, where she placed fourth on vault. Later, at the U.S. Classic, she finished fourteenth in the all-around. At the 2014 National Championships, she placed twentieth in the all-around.

In 2015, Shilese competed at the U.S. Classic again. She finished sixth in the all-around, on vault, and on floor exercise. At the 2015 National Championships, she placed tenth in the all-around.

Growing Stronger: 2016–2017

In 2016, Shilese competed at the 2016 U.S. Classic. She finished seventh on vault. At the 2016 National Championships, she placed seventh in the all-around. She also won bronze medals on vault and floor exercise.

Shilese competed at the 2017 U.S. Classic and finished seventh in the all-around. She was supposed to compete at the 2017 National Championships but had to stop due to an injury.

Senior Gymnastics Career

First Senior Year: 2018

Shilese became a senior gymnast in 2018. At the American Classic, she won first place in the all-around, on vault, and on floor exercise. She also placed fourth on uneven bars. Later, at the 2018 U.S. Classic, she finished fourth in the all-around.

At the National Championships, Shilese placed fifth in the all-around. Because of her strong performance, she was added to the senior national team for the first time. She was then chosen to compete at the Pan American Championships in Peru. There, Shilese helped the United States team win the gold medal.

Challenges and Comebacks: 2019–2021

In 2019, Shilese helped the U.S. team win gold at the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy. She was later named as an alternate for the Pan American Games team. At the 2019 GK US Classic, she placed ninth in the all-around and third on vault. At the U.S. National Championships, she finished twelfth in the all-around. She had to withdraw from the World Championships selection camp due to an injury.

In 2020, Shilese was re-added to the national team. She competed at a friendly competition in Japan. In February 2021, Shilese competed at the Winter Cup. She finished second in the all-around. She also placed third on uneven bars and tied for third on floor exercise. In August, it was announced that Shilese would join Simone Biles' Gold Over America Tour.

World Championship Success: 2022

Shilese started 2022 by competing at the 2022 City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy. Her team won the gold medal. Shilese placed fourth in the all-around and won silver on uneven bars and bronze on balance beam. In August, she competed at the National Championships. She finished second in the all-around. She also won the national title on uneven bars (tied with Leanne Wong) and outright won the national title on floor exercise.

In September, Shilese competed at the Paris World Challenge Cup. She won gold on uneven bars and silver on floor exercise. In October, Shilese was chosen to compete at the 2022 World Championships. She helped the USA team win their sixth straight team gold medal. Individually, Shilese won the silver medal in the all-around. She also won a silver medal on uneven bars.

More World Medals: 2023

In September 2023, Shilese was selected for the 2023 World Championships. She helped the USA team win their seventh straight World team title. In the all-around final, Shilese won the bronze medal. She also won a bronze medal on uneven bars. On the final day of the competition, she finished seventh on balance beam and fifth on floor exercise.

Recent Competitions and Injury: 2024

Shilese began 2024 at the Core Hydration Classic. She placed second in the all-around. She won gold on uneven bars and silver on floor exercise. She had to withdraw from the Xfinity U.S. Championships due to a right shoulder injury.

Shilese was allowed to compete at the 2024 Olympic Trials. However, during warm-ups, she injured her left knee. She decided to only compete on uneven bars, where she had the highest score of the day. The next day, doctors said she could not compete further, which ended her chance to make the Olympic team. Later, Shilese shared that she had torn her ACL and meniscus, which are parts of her 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