[imagesource: AP Photo / Gregory Bull]

Simone Biles is 24 years old, and before the Tokyo Olympics began, already had four golds and a bronze to her name, which she won in Rio back in 2016.

Those four golds meant she equalled the record for most gymnastics medals won by a woman at a single Games.

In addition to her Olympic achievements, she has 19 world championship gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals overall.

Her tally of 19 world championship gold medals and 24 world championship medals overall are both gymnastics records.

What I’m getting at is that she has nothing left to prove, is already regarded by many as the greatest gymnast that has ever lived, and has done herself and her country proud.

Biles pulled out of two Olympic finals this week – the women’s team event on Tuesday, and the individual all-around final yesterday – citing her mental health.

She told journalists she was also “having a little bit of the twisties”, which many gymnasts can relate to.

Below via the BBC:

Gymnasts have described the twisties as a kind of mental block.

In some sports a sudden mental block – like the “yips” in golf – may cost you a missed putt, or a lost game.

In gymnastics, it can cause a person to lose their sense of space and dimension as they’re in the air, causing them to lose control of their body and do extra twists or flips that they hadn’t intended. In the worst cases, they can find themselves suddenly unable to land safely.

The twisties can happen to a gymnast even if they’ve done the same manoeuvre for years without problems.

Biles stumbled during her vault routine on Tuesday and appeared disoriented.

Watching on, British gymnast Claudia Fragapane said she could instantly sympathise:

“It’s really dangerous if you doubt yourself a little bit, or you find it really hard, you can really really hurt yourself. I’ve been in her shoes and I ended up hurting myself.”

Former gymnast Jacoby Miles actually broke her neck after suffering from the twisties, and is now paralysed the chest down.

Athletes from across the sporting spectrum have shown support for Biles’ decision, but it really resonates with gymnasts for obvious reasons.

Actor Brandon Marino shared this message on Twitter, which he says was sent to him by a gymnast friend:

The ‘molested by her team doctor’ remark relates to Larry Nassar, the man at the centre of a sexual abuse cover-up that brought shame and disgrace to American gymnastics.

Biles herself retweeted the above message, before sending one of her own:

the outpouring love & support I’ve received has made me realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before. 🤍

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) July 29, 2021

Of course, much like what happened with Naomi Osaka, rightwing commentators sprung into action to label Biles weak.

Charlie Kirk called her a “selfish sociopath” and a “shame to the country”, and others followed suit.

Naturally, Piers Morgan, who earlier this year ran off his own TV show because the weatherman delivered some hard truths, had to wade in with his views:

Are ‘mental health issues’ now the go-to excuse for any poor performance in elite sport? What a joke.
Just admit you did badly, made mistakes, and will strive to do better next time.
Kids need strong role models not this nonsense.

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 27, 2021

He went further in a scathing article on The Daily Mail, which I won’t link to, before softening his stance on Instagram:

I think the top-ranked comment says it all.

[source:bbc]