Shilese Jones’ Olympic Quest Is Fueled by Beyoncé, Love, Loss and So Much More

In July, world champion gymnast Shilese Jones celebrated her birthday with front row seats for Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour.

It was more than just a single “unbelievable” experience. It was a culmination of what Jones calls her “inner Beyoncé.”
Jones says the workout wasn’t planned in advance, it was just a spontaneous decision.

Over the course of 90 minutes, she subjected herself to a broad range of non-stop activities, from sprints to weightlifting, with no breaks in between. Jones says she never lifts weights, but made an exception that day. And nearly three years later, she says it’s still the hardest workout of her life.

“I was like, ‘Why not go get some extra cardio in?’ And it definitely kicked my butt,” Jones said. “It was just an hour and a half straight.”

But the hurt of that workout and missing the Olympics didn’t compare to a loss that came later that year. In December 2021, her father Sylvester died after a long battle with kidney disease. Jones has previously said that it was her father’s dream to see her compete in the Olympics.

When she returned to U.S. Championships in August 2022, she did so in a leotard bearing her father’s date of death. She finished second in the all-around and went on to earn a spot on the U.S. team for the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool, England.

There, Jones helped lead her country to a team gold despite the absence of Simone Biles, and won silver in the all-around, behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. She also added a silver medal on uneven bars, her best event.

In 2022, Jones also made her first trip as a competitive gymnast to the site of this year’s Olympics when she competed in the Paris World Challenge Cup. She won gold on uneven bars, silver on floor exercise behind teammate Jordan Chiles and placed fifth on balance beam.

“I saw the Eiffel Tower and I had some pizza because it was the only restaurant open,” Jones said of the abbreviated trip to the city she now says is her favorite. “So many dreams, it’s just exciting to be out there with teammates and to be out on the Olympic stage.”

In 2023, she helped the U.S. win its seventh straight world championship title in the women’s team event, a streak that began in 2011. She also returned to the all-around podium, this time finishing third behind Biles and Andrade, and picked up a bronze on uneven bars.

While the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team is notoriously difficult to make, Jones has set herself up better than any other woman, save Simone Biles. In Paris, she hopes to help the U.S. win team gold, and claim individual medals in the all-around and on uneven bars, she told The Messenger.

“We’re definitely fighters, we’re coming back to secure the win, to take that first place this year," Jones said.

"We’re inspiring the younger girls looking up. I remember when I was 12 years old and I was like, ‘I want to be just like Gabby (Douglas) and I want to be the next great Olympian, so having so many great peers and so many younger kids to look up to use, that’s what sets the next tone for the next generation.”
The reason for that is simple; Jones has only one artist on her workout playlist.

“I love Beyoncé,” the 21-year-old Jones told The Messenger.

“If you’re not doing routines or something, you want to have fun, laugh on the side, and I feel like she just brings that out of me. I call it my ‘inner-Beyoncé’ and I’m like, ‘You know what, keep going. Beyoncé never gave up.’”

It’s no surprise that that message resonates with Jones.

In 2021, the Washington state native just missed out on traveling to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics. She finished 10th at that year’s Olympic Trials and was the top-ranked woman not to be named as an alternate for the U.S. gymnastics team. So instead of traveling across the Pacific Ocean, on one of the first days of the Games, Jones put herself through a bootcamp workout.