Surrounding oneself with strong support is a recipe for success.

And it certainly does not hurt when that support comes with Olympic-caliber experience.

Five of the 16 gymnasts at the 2024 United States Olympic Trials were products of the World Champions Centre. Two of those five – senior Jordan Chiles and freshman Tiana Sumanasekera – are members of UCLA gymnastics, alongside fellow WCC club product freshman Jordis Eichman.

WCC is owned by the family of Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles. Nellie Biles, Simone Biles’ mother, founded the gym to provide a safe environment for her daughter to train alongside other young gymnasts following Simone Biles’ first world championship title in 2013. Over a decade later, the Texas-based gym attracts talented gymnasts from across the world, such as French Olympian Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos.

Simone Biles committed to UCLA the same year WCC was founded, but the seven-time Olympic gold medalist opted to go professional and forfeited her NCAA eligibility.

Chiles was the first of the trio of WCC products to join UCLA, starting her NCAA career in 2022. She earned individual NCAA uneven bars championships in 2023 and 2025, alongside a floor title in 2023. The Houston local sat out of the 2024 collegiate season to train for the Olympics, returning to Westwood with a gold medal.

Now part of a relatively younger squad, Chiles has stepped into a greater leadership role, both on the competition floor – where she currently leads the nation in the all-around – and in helping the newcomers adjust to collegiate competition.

“Elite is more of throwing those big skills and not really fine-tuning all of the little details and being super nitpicky,” Sumanasekera said. “Coming to college, that is something that took a lot of time.”

Sumanasekera’s performance at the trials landed her an alternate spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite differences between professional and collegiate competition, Sumanasekera has brought elements of her elite routines to UCLA, especially by highlighting her Sri Lankan heritage.

Two meets into the season, the freshman has been quick to post competitive scores, ranking second on the team across all four apparatuses – behind only Chiles.

“We call her (Sumanasekara) ‘Princess T’ for a reason,” Chiles said. “She shines and allows herself to be who she is.”

Eichman is still working toward full fitness following a toe injury during preseason training. The Colorado Springs, Colorado, local competed at the 2025 U.S. Championships before heading to Westwood, finishing in the top 10 on uneven bars.

Eichman has a beam exhibition routine under her belt from the Best of the West Quad and will be working to earn a spot in lineups that have already consistently featured three freshman faces this season.

“She’s very close on a lot of events,” said coach Janelle McDonald. “So we are really going to use the next couple of weeks to get her more dialed in, locked in and ready to go.”