Simone Biles is the GOAT. The 24-year-old from Columbus, Ohio has won so many medals in so many big events all over the world that it’s impossible to think of the sport of gymnastics and not have her name come to your mind first.
But what she today in Tokyo might have been one of her most impressive moves and it had nothing to do with winning a medal but had everything to do with protecting her mental health.
Biles pulled out of the team Olympics finals after performing on the vault. She spent the rest of the competition cheering on her teammates and then afterward explained why she took herself out of the competition:
Biles says candidly: "Today has been really stressful." Team had a morning workout, and then during the 5 1/2 hour wait, said she was shaking, "never felt like this before…Once I came out here, I was like, no the mental is not there. I had to let the girls do it."
— Michele Steele (@MicheleSteele) July 27, 2021
“And it's been really stressful this Olympic Games, I think, just as a whole, not having an audience there are a lot of different variables going into it. It's been a long week it's been a long Olympic process it's been a long year.” — #SimoneBiles #Olympics
— T.J. Holmes (@tjholmes) July 27, 2021
This was a powerful moment:
Simone Biles: "I'm sorry. I love you guys, but you're gonna be just fine."
"You guys have trained your whole entire life for this, it's fine. I've been to an Olympics, I'll be fine. This is your first — you go out there and kick ass, okay?" pic.twitter.com/r2RxWQ2Dsy
— Kendall Baker (@TheKendallBaker) July 27, 2021
She also spoke with the media following the event:
One of the most remarkable mixed zone press conferences I’ve known. In which Simone Biles described pulling out of tonight’s team event because she had to put her mental health first. Says she was inspired by Naomi Osaka among others #Olympics #ArtisticGymnastics pic.twitter.com/p3Rli5S7J0
— Ian Herbert (@ianherbs) July 27, 2021
There are going to be idiots out there bashing Biles for pulling out of the event to protect her mental health. Don’t listen to those idiots. Stress and anxiety can be crippling things and I can’t imagine what that must feel like for someone who has such high expectations placed on her and has millions of people watching her every move.
Instead, listen to the people who showered her with love. Because there were plenty of people who did just that: