Simone Biles was supposed to be one of the biggest stars of the Olympics in Tokyo. Five years ago in Rio, he won four Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. The Americans expected their gymnast to beat this result in Japan. Meanwhile, after the first competition in which she won silver, Biles withdrew from the competition.
She explained the decision with mental problems. “ My mind and body are just not in sync, ” Biles wrote on Instagram, adding that mental health puts above the fight for medals. – It’s the number one topic in America. What is as strong as if Robert Lewandowski suddenly announces that due to mental issues he will not be able to compete for the Euro. After Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps left the Olympic stage, Tokyo had one star. But the gymnast Simone Biles, superhuman in breaking the laws of gravity, said that for the time being it was impossible to fight for medals –
She got great support
Biles’ sincere confession has made her one of the leaders in making fans aware that even great athletes are only human beings and have to contend with great outside pressure and their own expectations. She got a lot of support from her teammates, other athletes, fans and activists. “What Simone did is changing the way we perceive our well-being.” It showed that we are who more than athletes, that we are people who can also have hard days. It really taught us, said gymnast Sunisa Lee, who won gold in Tokyo.
Biles has a hard year behind him also because she once again had to fight a demon from the past. The gymnast is one of the victims of Larry Nassar, a US gymnastic physician who was convicted of sexual abuse of female athletes. Nassar will be sent to prison on a 175-year prison sentence. Biles was one of the key witnesses in the proceedings against the doctor. In 2021, she testified several times, also a month after the Olympics.
The gymnast went through a lot, and her declaration to Tokyo was extremely important socially. She has shown thousands of athletes that in the pursuit of records and successes there is room to take care of your own mental health. Its resignation from the competition went down in the history of the Olympics, and it is also a symbolic support for all people suffering from depression. Doctors define depression as diseases of the 21st century. I estimate that over 350 million people worldwide suffer from it.
More than a medal
She gained strength in equilibrium exercises. Here, it was not the sports result itself that was important, but the strength and courage in defeating the demons. Few of the athletes would in a matter of days be able to get back to the competition and win an Olympic medal.
Time magazine recognizes Biles deserves the Athlete of the Year title. The journalists of the magazine justified the choice by saying that they awarded the gymnast, among others, to because she did not compete in Tokyo. – She made it clear how important it is to prioritize yourself and refuse to give in to outside expectations – it was written.
– The power of an athlete is more and more often measured not only by victories and failures. If 2020 has shown athletes as activists after George Floyd’s murder, this year will show that athletes are uniquely placed to promote mental health in society, reads an article dedicated to Biles and her award.
“Time” is not a sports magazine, but the weekly award is very prestigious. A year ago, basketball player LeBron James was the winner, appreciated not so much for the NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, but for promoting democracy and initiating a movement urging people to vote in elections. The US football team in the women’s football team was awarded in 2019. Americans not only won the world championship, but also fight for the equal rights of women in football.
Great athletes and their faiths
In the last 12 months, several sports stars have opened up about mental problems. Swimming legend Michael Phelps tells frankly about his pool-Olympic depression, American tennis player Mardy Fish revealed in a Netflix-produced film that he would end his career due to mental problems. Naomi Osaka retired from her Roland Garros performance in May, putting mental health first.
Osaka’s gesture was as symbolic as Biles’s, but the WTA organization, when awarding the best female tennis players of the year awards a few days ago, has not come up with the idea of appreciating the Japanese woman. It’s crazy hard to compare sports achievements with the decisions Osaka or Biles made. By rewarding some players, you can unfairly treat others who, without similar stories in the background, simply achieved sports success.
American football player Colin Kaepernick, who started the anti-racist gesture of kneeling on one knee during the pre-match anthems, praises Biles for “spite, eloquence and courage.” mental – says Kaepernick in an interview with “Time”. “Its influence goes far beyond the sphere of sport and shows us that a different better world is possible when we talk honestly and authentically.”
“It’s ridiculous”. “Time” allegedly hypocritical
The decision “Time” – understood by many and fitting into the profile of the magazine’s work -, however, provoked a heated discussion. Especially among commentators who have a more narrow approach to the choice of the athlete of the year and focus strictly on sports achievements.
The words of a journalist of the Newsmax station were heard the most. – Simone Biles resigned halfway through the Olympics. Now she will receive the Athlete of the Year Award. the world goes crazy. It’s funny, offensive, non-American, says Greg Kelly.
– It’s ridiculous. In sport, winning should be appreciated, not retirement, said Piers Morgan, a British journalist and TV commentator. – Such a distinction for whom, who will give up the start, so that his team will lose, and then take part in the individual competition? – the Briton asks rhetorically.
Many commentators also accuse Time journalists of hypocrisy. If it was decided to award the Simone Biles athlete of the year title, why at the expense of, for example, the Tokyo Paralympics? The stories of almost every participant in the Paralympic Games are not less shocking and deserve social appreciation.
The distinction of Time magazine and the controversy it provoked can also be viewed from the perspective of Simone Biles herself. On the one hand, the American woman can be proud that with her courageous movement she is chasing an important social problem in the present world. On the other hand, a storm and disputes over the legitimacy of the title obtained are absolutely unnecessary to her. The last thing Simone Biles needs right now is unhealthy emotions and external pressure.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
