In the opening sequence of Jordan Chiles’ floor routine at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she turned and looked straight into the camera to deliver a wink, right on beat to an instrumental of Beyoncé’s “Black Parade.”

Chiles made the signature move just before she turned her back to the camera as another Beyoncé track began to play. She ran down the length of the floor to the huge beats of “My House,” landing an impressive tumbling pass that would later send her to the podium in the women’s floor exercise final.

“I was like, ‘Why not bring the “Renaissance” tour to gymnastics?’ and just have fun and play with it,” Chiles tells TODAY.com. “I think that’s the biggest thing for anybody in entertainment — I feel like if the crowd entertains us with all their clapping and stuff, I feel like entertaining back is the best way.”

The emotional moment of winning the bronze medal in the floor final capped off a memorable experience at the Olympic Games for Chiles, who also earned gold alongside Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera in the women’s team final.

The 23-year-old captured the hearts of America with her combination of flawless execution and bubbly personality, making her one of the most beloved members of the women’s gymnastics team in Paris.

Just hours after returning from Paris, Chiles tells TODAY.com about the “whirlwind” ride of the 2024 Olympics, giving an inside look into her inspiration for this year’s Games, how her performances played out and who she met along the way — including Snoop Dogg, Mariska Hargitay and more.

Drawing inspiration from Beyoncé

Beyoncé was a “huge inspiration” to this season of her gymnastics career, Chiles says.

“Obviously, she’s the queen of music. Her ‘Renaissance’ tour is what really caught my eye. I went and watched the documentary as well, so a lot of the things that she was saying — that’s where I got my motto from. ‘I’m that girl,’ you know?” she says, referencing the first track on Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album.

Beyoncé’s influence isn’t hard to see, with Chiles’ floor routine music being one of the most notable moments.

Chiles’ floor routine, which features snippets of several instrumental versions of Beyoncé songs, plus Destiny’s Child’s “Lose My Breath,” catapulted her onto the podium during the floor exercise final in Paris, marking her first individual Olympic medal.

As for the music, Chiles says she didn’t need to get it cleared from Beyoncé herself to use it on the Olympic stage.

“I wasn’t really trying to get Beyoncé’s eye whatsoever,” she says. “I was just like, ‘I’m just going to use the music and see where it goes.’ I felt like it was like the new generation, what they’re listening to.”

But Beyoncé noticed her routine far ahead of the Olympics, Chiles says.

Chiles references two of her leotards she wore before the 2024 Olympics that were inspired by Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour outfits.

“I literally dug through her whole Instagram account because she was on, like, 50 shows — there was a lot. So when I found two different pieces that I felt like were my personality, the funky side and then also the elegant side, everything kind of just tied in together.”

As for if Beyoncé has been in contact, Chiles confirms with a smile that the singer has gotten in touch.

“She sent me a vinyl, which was really cool,” Chiles says. “She wrote her own personal message on it.”

According to NBC Los Angeles, Beyoncé wrote a handwritten message to Chiles on the cover of her latest record, “Cowboy Carter.”

“Congrats to you Queen. I always watch you with pride and admiration,” Beyoncé wrote. “Thank you for repping us. Good luck to you! All your hard work and sacrifices shine bright. Praying for you and wishing you the best. Love, your twin, Beyoncé.”

Queen Bey’s praises didn’t end there — the singer recently posted an Olympic-themed video to her song “Ya Ya,” which featured a slew of Team USA athletes, including the women’s gymnastics team.

“I think it’s just really cool, understanding that as many flowers as we give to people, there’s a lot of people that are giving flowers back to us,” Chiles says. “So I’ve just really enjoyed each and every moment — it’s been a whirlwind.”

The floor exercise final — from winning bronze to bowing to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade

In the women’s floor final, the last gymnastics event of the Olympics, Chiles was set to be the final competitor to perform her routine.

“Going last is the hardest thing you can ever do, especially within our sport,” Chiles reflects, before sharing what she was thinking as she waited for the other athletes to compete ahead of her. “I was just trying to focus on each detail.”

“I think the biggest thing was me just going out there, having fun, doing everything that I can to make sure I’m solid,” she adds. “It was a big event for me. It was my first time ever making an event finals in an Olympic Games. So being last, it was just a lot.”

Chiles received a score of 13.666 for her floor routine at the Olympic final, which put her in fifth place. Team USA then submitted an inquiry into Chiles’ score because it thought the judges didn’t give her credit for a skill.

The judges reviewed Chiles’ routine and updated her score, which was enough to boost her into third place — earning her the bronze.

(The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee has asked the International Gymnastics Federation to reevaluate the score of one of its gymnasts, who finished in fifth, though it’s unclear if any scores will change.)

When the updated score came through, Chiles immediately started screaming and jumping up and down, celebrating with Biles and her coach. She then began to cry, falling on the ground as she became overcome with emotion.

“That is the most ugliest cry I’ve ever seen myself do,” Chiles says. “I was just in awe, in shock, there were just so many emotions going through my head. I think just understanding that I had done everything I could to get that medal — so I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening.'”

“Obviously my coach and Simone were right there by my side, and those two people have definitely helped me through every situation that I’ve gone through,” she continues.

And Biles was right by her side as they stepped up to the podium too, as Chiles was awarded the bronze and Biles was awarded the silver.

One of the most heartwarming moments in Paris happened just seconds later, when Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade celebrated her gold medal win.

As Andrade stepped onto the podium, Biles and Chiles bowed down to the gymnast, leading Andrade to hold their hands before the gold medal was placed around her neck.

It was Chiles’ idea to bow down to Andrade, she says.

“Rebeca has done a lot within her sport, within her country,” Chiles says. “So I felt not only was it a Black podium, I feel like people should get recognized the proper way, and bowing down to her was giving her that recognition that she really deserved that medal.”

“She was the best one out there, she did her thing, it was the best floor routine,” she adds. “So it was just to recognize to the whole world that this girl has done so much within her career and that her flowers were definitely given.”

Meeting Mariska Hargitay and other celebs

One of the biggest whirlwind moments of the Olympics for Chiles was caught on camera: Chiles and Lee were seen fangirling as they walked up to meet “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay.

According to a video posted by USA Gymnastics, Chiles could be seen encouraging Lee to walk up to Hargitay, who immediately went in for a big hug with the gymnasts.

“Mariska’s just the best lady. Like, meeting her just felt like I’ve known her for years,” Chiles says of the moment. “It was really crazy.”

After their meeting, Hargitay posted adorable photos of her daughter, Amaya, with Chiles and Lee on Instagram.

In the pics, Amaya wears Chiles’ gold medal. Chiles explains why she gave her the medal for the photos.

“I’ve been in her position before, when it comes to your beauty, the diversity, everything like that,” Chiles says. “And obviously, for you to walk around and everybody’s going to ask questions like, ‘Is this really your mom?’ You know, I’ve been there once before.”

“I felt like in that moment, it was really cool just to give her that opportunity to feel seen,” Chiles says. “So her daughter, I was like, ‘You know what, she’s gorgeous.’ She caught my eye. It wasn’t just like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m just doing that for publicity.’ No, it caught my eye and I felt like, you know, the beauty is what needs to be seen, and I’m happy I had that moment with her.”

There were two other people in Paris that Chiles couldn’t believe came to watch her compete: Queen Latifah and Gabrielle Union.

“You don’t realize how much gymnastics is watched until the Olympics because it’s not very quote-unquote known. Because during that timeframe, it’s, like, basketball and football and track and field and golf and tennis. And for us, it’s like, yeah, we can flip here and there, but the Olympics is, like, where everybody sees, and I’ve never realized until now,” she says. “It was overwhelming. I was like, ‘This is so cool. Like, what is happening?'”

Though the Olympics are still ongoing, all eyes are on what Chiles is doing next. The gymnast announced alongside TODAY’s Hoda Kotb on Aug. 8 she will be returning to the University of California, Los Angeles, to continue her collegiate gymnastics career.

“You all have been waiting for it: I am returning back to UCLA to represent the Bruins for my two remaining years of college,” she said. “So you guys will see me back in Pauley (Pavilion) this season.”

Hoda, the ultimate gymnastics hypewoman, couldn’t be more excited: “Girl, UCLA is so lucky!”

“UCLA, here I come!” Chiles replied with a huge grin.