Simone Biles VS Mental Health

By: Victoria Marie Cucchia August 10, 2021 12:00PM

Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles discusses her mental health issues and how it effected her at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Simone Biles on beam at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles said that her decision to withdraw from many of the gymnastics events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health was hands down one of her “greatest accomplishments.” Biles reflected her experience and time in Tokyo during a Zoom call last Saturday with President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and fellow Team USA athletes. Biles said, “The Olympics was not how I expected it to go, but putting my mental and my physical health first will probably be one of my greatest accomplishments.”

Biles also added that if she had backed out earlier in her career, she would probably have been “too stubborn” to take a step back. The 24-year-old gymnast added that she was proud of the way her team handled her withdrawal during the team final. Simone lead the team to win Silver in the final team event.

Simone Biles also stated that, “To have mental health be talked about more in sports is really nice because at the end of the day, we are humans before athletes.”

Simone Biles talks about Mental Health after winning Bronze on beam.

Simone also talked about how she broke the news to her team about withdrawing. She said, “You have done all the training, you can do this without me and it will be just fine.” She also told the girls she wasn’t in the “right headspace” and doesn’t “feel right to compete.”

“They were freaking out. They were like, crying, and I was like ‘You guys need to relax, you’re going to be fine without me, go out there and kick some butts.” Simone said. 

From left to right: Gymnasts Grace Mccallum, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Simone Biles holding their Silver Medals

Simone’s close friend and teammate Jordan Chiles said, “It was definitely something that was unexpected, we were kind of emotional when we found out that she wasn’t going to continue and, you know, we always kind of put our minds in a great position. Because at the end of the day, we’re out there to show what we needed to show and we went out there and did what we did.”

Lee said that “I feel like, in that moment, we all knew that we needed to come together.”

Simone also added, “I knew they’d be okay without me, just watching them train… they’re a couple of the strongest competitors I know. Their heads are always on straight and they have a lot of dedication and courage, so I knew they were going to be just fine. So I wasn’t worried.” She also stated that her decision to withdraw was related to protecting her mental health, not an injury.

Simone ended it by saying, “We also have to focus on ourselves, because at the end of the day, we’re human, too so, we have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do.”