Bouncing Back

 

I haven't been paying all that much attention to the Paris Olympics, but gymnast Simone Biles has managed to make inroads into my consciousness. Turns out we have something in common, and not simply United States citizenship: we've both been to a mental health professional. The similarity ends there, I'm afraid. I did it very quietly, and didn't tell people I'd gone to one until years later. Back in 2020, Biles perhaps would have liked to have done it quietly, too. Unfortunately, all eyes were on her at the Tokyo Olympics when she suddenly dropped out due to "the twisties." A colloquial rather than a medical term, there's nevertheless some real psychology behind it, as it has to do with what a gymnast experiences when they encounter a disconnect between their body and mind while performing skills, like twists, in competition. While executing a routine, a gymnast may lose their sense of space and air awareness, do more or fewer twists or flips than intended, possibly preventing a gymnast from landing safely on the mat. Biles herself had this to say:

"I say put mental health first. Because if you don't, then you're not going to enjoy your sport and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to. So it's OK sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself, because it shows how strong of a competitor and person that you really are — rather than just battle through it."

Biles was slammed in some corners for being a "quitter", as well as "letting her country down", but multiple other gymnasts came forth and told of their own experiences with the twisties, and in the end it created a greater awareness of the role mental health plays in sports.

Since then, Biles has made a Olympic comeback, winning two gold medals in Paris (for Team and All-Around), and may win a few more in the next few days. Even if she doesn't she's already made Olympics history, having won four won earlier golds at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, six altogether, more than any other U.S. gymnast.

None of this means that the mental health issues have been forgotten, as Biles will tell you in this talk with the media not long after she won her sixth gold: 

Now let's see Simone Biles in action. Unfortunately, NBC Sports has put the kibosh on showing any part of their Olympics coverage on a mere blog like this. However, a YouTube site that goes by the name "Zennie62 You Live Oakland News Now NFL Draft Vegas" did have this video, which look to have been taped from a distance by somebody sitting in the stands. \

OK, I give up. Now Zennie62whateverthehellyoucallit took its video away. Man, this Olympic coverage must be worth its weight in, well, gold medals.  

I'm sending you right to YouTube post itself:

Simone Biles' AWE-INSPIRING floor routine clinches a record SIXTH gymnastics gold | Paris Olympics (youtube.com) 

 

No mental health issues there. Not even a Freudian slip.

                                                                           UPDATE

She just won a third gold in the Vault. That's seven Olympic golds altogether. Lest we forget, she's also won a silver in Tokyo and bronze each in Rio and Tokyo, so that's ten Olympic medals of any cast.