Simone Biles’ face broke into a huge smile seconds before her landing. The 27-year-old knows her performance has been a success, despite the ligaments around her left leg. The world’s most famous gymnast proved this week that she is back to her best when she became the first woman to land a double Yurchenko at the Olympics and won her first gold medal since Rio 2016.
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Win by withdrawal
Biles’ performance was a far cry from her performance at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she was forced to withdraw. She suffered during the competition from what is known in gymnastics asTwists“A mental blockage where the connection between body and mind is cut off when gymnasts are launched into the air. She explained her decision to resign as an attempt to “protect her mental health” after she collapsed under the pressure of taking home the gold. “Ultimately, we don’t want to be carried out on a stretcher,” she said.
Biles proves critics wrong
Biles faced heavy criticism from onlookers for her decision, and was criticised by journalists who denounced her mental health struggles. Piers Morgan, the man who lost his temper over the concept of vegan sausage rolls, suggested on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the multiple gold medal-winning gymnast was not a “strong role model”.
We are Mental health issues “Now the excuse for poor performance in top sport? What a joke,” he told his eight million followers. On the other side of the Atlantic, the criticism was even more virulent. On the show Fox News Commentator Clay Travis demanded that Biles “apologize” to her fellow athletes. Meanwhile, critic Charlie Kirk described her on his podcast as “selfish, immature, a disgrace to the country and a sociopath.”
Even in a world more concerned and understanding of mental health, this response to Biles isn’t necessarily unusual. We’re taught from an early age that we must work hard to succeed, with the old adage “winners never quit and quitters never win” being repeated when it comes to adversity. This attitude holds us back throughout our school years and later applies to relationships, careers, and even hobbies. We persist in unsafe environments despite being clearly miserable. Announcing your resignation still has negative connotations—the idea of you personally giving up on something can lead to a deep sense of failure, ultimately reinforcing that you’re the one responsible for the problem.
This is only magnified when you’re at the peak of a highly successful career, and it’s a real predicament when you’re hailed as one of the best of the best. We expect perfection from the Olympians, who are titans with superhuman strength. Yet we don’t always think about the mental resilience needed to perform under pressure while the world watches with bated breath.
As with most things in life, women seem to be the ones getting the short end of the stick: expectations seem to be increasingly heaped on them, with viewers assuming that female athletes should endure pain and put the needs of others before their own. The wellbeing group. It’s something we saw earlier this month at Wimbledon, where Emma Raducanu was unfairly criticised for “ruining” Andy Murray’s Wimbledon swan song when she pulled out of her doubles match due to injury fears. Women should be commended for recognising their value and taking a step back, and as sports fans we need to give them some breathing space.
The Paris Olympics were hailed as a “redemption trip” for USA Gymnastics — a comment that seems entirely unwarranted and a kick in the butt given how open the team has been about its struggles, especially in the wake of the historic abuses perpetrated by former federal doctor Larry Nassar. Biles owes no one anything, and whether she wins the gold medal is irrelevant. She is more than just a collection of medals, she is a human being whose well-being is more important and valuable than a piece of metal hanging around her neck.
Her latest win only proves that she was justified in taking a break, despite the unfavorable reviews from frothy critics. With her success, Biles has shown that sometimes quitters can actually win.
