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Jordan Bowers

Jordan Skylar Bowers (born April 5, 2003) is an American artistic gymnast and was part of the United States women's national gymnastics team. She won the junior all-around gold medals at the 2018 Pacific Rim Championships and the 2018 Junior Pan American Championships. She is currently competing for the Oklahoma Sooners in NCAA gymnastics.

Personal life

Bowers was born to John and Tracy Bowers in 2003, and she has one sibling, a sister named Felicity. She began gymnastics in 2005.[1]

Bowers has been dating Oklahoma Sooners men's gymnastics team member Raydel Gamboa since 2021. The pair announced their engagement in 2024.[2]

Gymnastics career

2016–17

Bowers began competing at the junior elite level in 2016, where she competed at the American classic and the P&G National Championships.

2018

Bowers was officially added to the junior national team after she was named to the team to compete at the 2018 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships alongside seniors Morgan Hurd, Grace McCallum, and Jordan Chiles and fellow juniors Kayla DiCello and Sunisa Lee.[3] There she won gold in the team, junior all-around, and junior floor exercise finals. She won bronze on uneven bars.[4] Bowers later competed at the Pan American Championships alongside Leanne Wong, Tori Tatum, and JaFree Scott from June 13–15 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[5] There the team won gold in the team final and individually Bowers won gold in the all-around, on uneven bars, and on floor exercise. Additionally she won bronze on the balance beam behind Zoé Allaire-Bourgie of Canada and compatriot Wong.[6]

On July 28 Bowers competed at the 2018 U.S. Classic. She finished third in the all-around behind Wong and DiCello after falling twice on floor exercise. She finished second on balance beam and uneven bars.[7] Bowers traveled to Boston to compete in the 2018 U.S. Championships in August. She was one of the favorite to win the title based on her earlier victories in the all-around, but she struggled on the first day with multiple errors and finished in 17th place in the all-around on the first day.[8] Bowers withdrew from the second day of competition, citing an injury sustained during training that had also hampered her on the first day of competition.[9] Because she did not finish in the top six all-around, she was not automatically named to the national team.

2019

In 2019 Bowers became age-eligible for senior level competition. In February she attended the national team camp in hopes of making an international assignment.[10] Just before the camp Bowers re-injured her lower back and it was determined she had a spinal disc herniation and an edema on her vertebrae. She sat out the remainder of the season in order to recover.[11]

On November 2, Bowers announced on Instagram that she had retired from elite gymnastics and would continue training as a level 10 gymnast with the intention of competing at the University of Oklahoma, starting in the 2021–22 season.[12]

2020–21

On November 11, 2020 Bowers signed her National Letter of Intent with the Oklahoma Sooners.[13]

Bowers competed at the 2021 Developmental Program National Championships where she placed third in the all-around in the Senior-E division. Additionally she placed second on balance beam and uneven bars.[14]

Collegiate gymnastics career

2021–2022 season

Bowers made her NCAA debut on January 9 in a meet against Alabama. She competed the all-around, posting the highest score of the day on floor with a 9.925.[15] The following week in a meet against Utah she scored a 9.975 on vault, the highest of the meet. Her all-around score of 39.550 was the second highest behind Grace McCallum. As a result Bowers was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the first time.[16] At the 2022 NCAA Championships Bowers helped Oklahoma win the team title. Individually Bowers finished second on floor exercise behind Trinity Thomas.[17]

2022–2023 season

Throughout the season Bowers earned two perfect 10s, one on floor exercise and one on uneven bars. At the Big 12 Championships Bowers helped Oklahoma win the team title. Individually she won the all-around and floor exercise titles and placed third on uneven bars and balance beam. At the 2023 NCAA Championships Bowers once again helped Oklahoma finish first as a team.[18]

2023–2024 season

At the Big 12 Championships Bowers earned three perfect 10 scores, accumulating an all-around total of 39.925, winning her the all-around title. As a team, Oklahoma earned a score of 198.950, setting the overall NCAA gymnastics team record.[19] At the 2024 NCAA Championships Bowers alongside teammates Faith Torrez and Katherine LeVasseur suffered mishaps on vault. As a result Oklahoma did not qualify to the Four on the Floor final. However, Bowers still was a co-runner-up on floor exercise behind Aleah Finnegan and a co-third place finisher on the uneven bars.[20]

Bowers was nominated for the Honda Sports Award alongside Haleigh Bryant, Jade Carey, and Leanne Wong; ultimately Bryant won the award.[21]

2024–2025 season

Oklahoma joined the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in Bowers' final collegiate season. At the SEC Championships, Bowers helped Oklahoma finish second behind reigning national champions LSU. Individually she finished second on floor exercise and sixth in the all-around.[22] She was named SEC Gymnast of the Year after having a 100% hit rate while competing the all-around in every meet of the season.[23] During the regional final in Washington, Bowers, for the second time in her career, earned three perfect tens in a single meet.[24]

Bowers was named as one of six finalists for the AAI Award, which recognizes the top senior female gymnast in the nation for her dedication, leadership, and excellence in the sport, alongside teammate Audrey Davis, Jade Carey, Aleah Finnegan, Grace McCallum, and Leanne Wong.[25] She ultimately lost to Carey.[26]

At the NCAA Championships Bowers helped Oklahoma advance to Four on the Floor and eventually win the team title. Individually she scored a 39.7125 in the all-around to win the national title.[27][28]

Career perfect 10.0

Season Date Event Meet
2022 March 4, 2022 Vault Oklahoma vs Michigan
2023 February 24, 2023 Floor exercise Oklahoma vs West Virginia
March 30, 2023 Uneven bars Norman Regional Semifinal
2024 February 2, 2024 Oklahoma & Cal @ Arizona State
March 10, 2024 Floor exercise Oklahoma @ Arkansas
March 17, 2024 Oklahoma vs Alabama
March 23, 2024 Vault Big 12 Championships
Uneven bars
Floor exercise
2025 April 6, 2025 Vault Washington Regional Final
Uneven bars
Floor exercise

NCAA Regular season ranking

Season All-Around Vault Uneven Bars Balance Beam Floor Exercise
2022 N/A 1st 15th N/A 19th
2023 5th 11th 10th 7th 8th
2024 2nd 5th 1st 13th 2nd
2025 2nd 21st 11th 4th 3rd

Competitive history

Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
Junior
2016 American Classic 8 6
P&G National Championships 14 21 12 22 10
2017 American Classic 8 8
U.S. Classic 32 22 9 41 36
P&G National Championships 13 12 7 28 10
2018 Pacific Rim Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Pan American Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
U.S. Classic 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 29
NCAA
2022 Big 12 Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 4 1st place, gold medalist(s)
NCAA Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 21 13 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2023 Big 12 Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
NCAA Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 14
2024 Big 12 Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 1st place, gold medalist(s)
NCAA Championships 6 19 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2025 SEC Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 29 16 11 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
NCAA Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 2nd place, silver medalist(s)

References

  1. ^ "Jordan Bowers" Archived 2018-05-16 at the Wayback Machine. usagym.org. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  2. ^ "Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Gymnastics World Unite To Celebrate Jordan Bowers' Engagement Post After 2.5 Years of Dating". EssentiallySports. March 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "USA Gymnastics names women's 2018 Pac Rim, Junior Pan Am Championships Teams". USA Gymnastics. April 10, 2018. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  4. ^ "USA brings home 29 medals from men's, women's individual event finals". USA Gymnastics. April 29, 2018. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "Women's National Team Camp begins today at Flip Fest". USA Gymnastics. May 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "USA, Bowers strike gold at 2018 Junior Pan Am Championships". USA Gymnastics. June 13, 2018.
  7. ^ "Biles, Wong win all-around titles at 2018 GK U.S. Classic". USA Gymnastics. July 28, 2018. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  8. ^ "MyUSAGym". myusagym.com. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  9. ^ "USA Gymnastics on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  10. ^ "U.S. women's February training camp begins today". USA Gymnastics. February 21, 2019.
  11. ^ "Right before February national team camp, I injured my lower back for the second time in six months". Instagram. August 3, 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  12. ^ "Today I am announcing my retirement from elite gymnastics". Instagram. November 2, 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  13. ^ "Gymnastics Phenom Bowers Signs with Oklahoma". KOLN. November 11, 2020.
  14. ^ "Trio Of Future Sooners Named To Development National Team". Oklahoma Sooners. May 20, 2021.
  15. ^ Aber, Ryan (January 9, 2022). "OU women's gymnastics: Third-ranked Sooners top sixth-ranked Alabama in season opener". The Oklahoman.
  16. ^ "OU women's gymnastics: Sooners freshmen Jordan Bowers, Danielle Sievers earn Big 12 honors". The Oklahoma Daily. January 18, 2022.
  17. ^ "Oklahoma wins the 2022 NCAA gymnastics national championship". National Collegiate Athletic Association. April 16, 2022.
  18. ^ "Oklahoma repeats as NCAA women's gymnastics champion". National Collegiate Athletic Association. April 15, 2023.
  19. ^ "OU women's gymnastics wins Big 12 Championships with 198.950, sets record with highest score in NCAA history". OU Daily. March 23, 2024.
  20. ^ "Highlights from the 2024 NCAA gymnastics semifinals". ESPN. April 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "Bowers Named Honda Sport Award Finalist". Oklahoma Sooners. April 22, 2024.
  22. ^ "2-seed LSU wins back-to-back SEC Championship crown". Southeastern Conference. March 22, 2025.
  23. ^ "Bowers Honored as SEC Gymnast of the Year, Seven Sooners Named All-SEC". Oklahoma Sooners. March 26, 2025.
  24. ^ "OU women's gymnastics rolls to NCAA regional title behind Jordan Bowers' perfect 10s". The Oklahoman. April 6, 2025.
  25. ^ "Bowers, Davis Named Finalists for Prestigious AAI Award". Oklahoma Sooners. March 19, 2025.
  26. ^ Price, Caroline (April 16, 2025). "Jade Carey Wins The AAI Award, 'Gymnastics' Heisman Trophy'". Forbes.
  27. ^ "Oklahoma's Jordan Bowers beats out U.S. Olympians to win NCAA title". Stormin' in Norman. April 18, 2025.
  28. ^ "Jordan Bowers, Faith Torrez fuel OU women's gymnastics run back to NCAA championships". The Oklahoman. April 18, 2025.