One of the biggest stories surrounding the past Olympics was Simone Biles’s withdrawal from several events in gymnastics due to mental health struggles. Simone Biles is known as one of the best gymnasts in history. She has won 4 gold medals, 2 silvers and a bronze in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 combined. She has succeeded at doing extremely difficult skills and gained the name “GOAT” which is an acronym for “Greatest Of All Time”.
-Biles withdrew from the team event final, floor final, vault final, bar final before she decided to compete in the last event on beam. She explained that she experienced “the twisties” which is when a gymnast forgets how to flip and twist or does not know where they are in the air, meaning Biles could have hurt herself extremely badly. Simone said, "What's even scarier is since I have no idea where I am in the air I also have NO idea how I am going to land. Or what I am going to land on. Head/hands/feet back… ”. (CBS News). During the time she was not competing before the beam finals, she was assisted by both doctors and sports psychologists to enable her to participate in the competition.
Yet, this is not the first time this year this has publicly occurred. With the continued acceptance and recognition that mental health is important, Naomi Osaka, a Grand Slam winner withdrew from the French Open. Osaka struggles with depression and anxiety. She noted on her Instagram account that having to do press conferences after the game causes anxiety which cost her a 15,000 dollar fine for missing the conference, later she withdrew. “I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media”. (Instagram)
In an article by “The Conversation” magazine, it is discussed whether this shows “strength and resilience” or it shows “poor mental toughness”. Jonathan Rhodes, a psychology lecturer at the University of Plymouth states “My research shows that it is the latter and that making that decision is part of remaining resilient and competitive – resilient people make clear decisions based on self-compassion and future success over immediate external satisfaction.” Throughout the article he explains how she prioritised her health first, saying that having anxiety and stress could mess with athletes' performances. In addition, society is taught that athletes are supposed to pull through in any situation. “The notion that the show must go on is outdated and can be detrimental to general health and holistic wellbeing.”
Biles’s withdrawal from the competition was one of the biggest news stories of the Olympics. She has been congratulated by many athletes and it has helped the audience understand the news part of sports and how they work. Rhodes states how the support of mental health by different groups like governing bodies can “increase a person's passion and perseverance”. Mental health has taken a new position in sports.
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