Olympics- Simone Biles quits and Russians win gold

[Kenny11]

Being mentally tough comes with the territory.
Her brand will, no doubt, be affected. She's not the total star that we thought she was. No way around it.
Athletes who overcome all these challenges are the ones who deservingly receive high praise.
Just a disappointing situation all around.

I'm disappointed too but I've followed her for years now and she has been one of the most mentally tough athletes I've ever seen. She has been winning world championships ever since she was a teenager and had multiple gold medals in the olympics 5 years ago. All of these were also under incredibly difficult circumstances and loads of pressure. Gymnastics in general, has to be one of the most mentally taxing sports, which I know as a father of a gymnast. The fear of being all alone, literally being judged and feeling the need to be perfect, the insanely high chance of being injured and the fact that they are always injured anyway is pretty tough...but again, she has overcame that countless times before.

Maybe this situation is just different from anything we could compare it to with other athletes in the past because of her being the face of the Olympics, no spectators or family, the chance of being told any minute that you tested positive for covid and can't participate, and the Nassar situation and everything that came along with that.

 

[arch]

Can we assume that none of you folks will be less supportive if she ”recovers” in time for individual competitions?

 

[krinklecut]

I'm disappointed too but I've followed her for years now and she has been one of the most mentally tough athletes I've ever seen. She has been winning world championships ever since she was a teenager and had multiple gold medals in the olympics 5 years ago. All of these were also under incredibly difficult circumstances and loads of pressure. Gymnastics in general, has to be one of the most mentally taxing sports, which I know as a father of a gymnast. The fear of being all alone, literally being judged and feeling the need to be perfect, the insanely high chance of being injured and the fact that they are always injured anyway is pretty tough...but again, she has overcame that countless times before.

Maybe this situation is just different from anything we could compare it to with other athletes in the past because of her being the face of the Olympics, no spectators or family, the chance of being told any minute that you tested positive for covid and can't participate, and the Nassar situation and everything that came along with that.

On top of the Nassar stuff, she's also spoken about how dangerous gymnastics is (certainly one of the more dangerous sports out there) and how when she was younger she could brush that off, but getting older the reality of it has a large impact on her mental wellbeing.

There is a festering cauldron of reasons Biles could have been driven to the point of needing to sit an event out. Any of the explanations for her mental state are valid, and it's valid even if there are no underlying reasons.

I'd prefer my child look up to athletes like Biles and Osaka, strong women who understand when to listen to their mental health, than some of the names like Jordan and Brady getting tossed around in this thread.

 

[navery12]

Then she should have stayed home.
The Nasser stuff is old history. Devastating and terrible, YES. But not recent.
She simply should have stayed home rather than quit on the biggest stage. Perhaps, the next star could have been on the team rather than Biles. Instead Biles goes tot he Olympics and then says its all just too much when her team needed her the most.
Its all about endorsements and money. If she stayed home rather than go to the Olympics, it would have cost her millions. So she goes to the Olympics and all of a sudden, its all too much for her? Come on.

I truly hope nobody in your life has to deal with mental illness, and if they do I hope you gain some empathy to help them through it between now and then

 

[Fishy]

Basically, she got the yips in mid-air which is about as bad a place to get the yips as there can be. Someone who “doesn’t know where (she) is” in mid-air is going to get horribly injured if she tries it again, so I really don’t think she had much choice but to quit. Plus, it probably saved the silver for the team.

She hasn’t really seemed at her best lately and given the expectations, I imagine that all piled up her and she cracked. It happens - it’s just a lot more noticeable when you are spinning 12’ off the ground rather than taking an at-bat or a three at the buzzer.

I’m guessing she’ll be fine and she’ll win what she is supposed to win.

 

[husky429]

Glad to see the nincompoops are in the minority this time around. Good job, 'Yard!

It's weird that people think this is somehow selfish. Anyone quitting the Olympics is obviously in a lot of turmoil--it's the Olympics... She isn't doing this out of spite or for endorsement money. She's probably going to lose tons of money because of this decision.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Basically, she got the yips in mid-air which is about as bad a place to get the yips as there can be. Someone who “doesn’t know where (she) is” in mid-air is going to get horribly injured if she tries it again, so I really don’t think she had much choice but to quit. Plus, it probably saved the silver for the team.

She hasn’t really seemed at her best lately and given the expectations, I imagine that all piled up her and she cracked. It happens - it’s just a lot more noticeable when you are spinning 12’ off the ground rather than taking an at-bat or a three at the buzzer.

I’m guessing she’ll be fine and she’ll win what she is supposed to win.

Here's a nice article that adds some more clarity, too. After reading this, some of the takes in this thread look even more cringe-worthy and embarrassing

How Simone Biles saved herself — and her teammates — at the Olympics

Doubt. Fear. Insecurity. Pressure. Failure. The world's greatest gymnast felt it all on sports' biggest stage.

www.yahoo.com

 

[UConnRock]

Mixed feeling about this. If she was a teenager with limited experience I could understand a bit more, but she is 24 years old and this is her third Olympics along with many world championships events through her career. I guess part of the issue is creating a team event out of what is really an individual sport. For most who are or have been athletes the team success is always the goal, but maybe by withdrawing she thought the team had a better chance.

In a perfect world she would be the leader of the team and show the younger athletes how to deal with adversity. There are a lot of people younger than her that deal with life's challenges and face tremendous obstacles. I guess I don't really understand the challenges and pressure of the media spotlight and the high bar of what is expected of her.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The Olympics, gymnastics in particular, are pretty deranged. These kids train year round for the chance to compete once every four years and by the time they are early 20s they are washed up.

That on top of the Nassar stuff.. surprised you don't see stuff like this more often.

 

[CL82]

"Today has been really stressful, we had a workout this morning; it went OK but during that five-and-a-half hour wait I was shaking - I could barely nap. I had never felt like that going into a competition before. I tried to go out here and have fun; the warmup in the back went a little bit better but once I came out here I was like, 'no, mentals [sic] not here so I just need to let the girls do it and focus on myself.’"

 

[mrl2016]

Hurling your body around in the air is dangerous and must be terrifying so I can’t say I blame her, but we have to call it what it is. She got scared after a bad vault and withdrew

Hopefully they can find someone ready to commit for the individual events. Next woman up

 

[Kenny11]

The Olympics, gymnastics in particular, are pretty deranged. These kids train year round for the chance to compete once every four years and by the time they are early 20s they are washed up.

That on top of the Nassar stuff.. surprised you don't see stuff like this more often.

It happens all the time, just not in the Olympics. Most of the teens who make the Olympics in gymnastics aren't back for the next one, even if it isn't due to injuries. They are burnt out and scared of doing routines they were doing as children.

 

[UCfor3]

Even WATCHING the balance beam makes me anxious. Imagine the first time you say "now let's try it without the safety harness."

 

[Waquoit]

What? I said she quit and she did quit.

My post was in disagreement with the poster who said you weren't being critical. Thanks for confirming I was correct.

 

[EBonz30]

I'm a fan or her as a person and athlete, this is a bit sad/disappointing to see.

I could go on a rant on this situation- but I won’t- prefer not to be harassed by everyone in this thread- but I agree with your sentiments.

 

[UCDaveD]

Whole thing is so strange.

 

[nomar]

Then she should have stayed home.
The Nasser stuff is old history. Devastating and terrible, YES. But not recent.
She simply should have stayed home rather than quit on the biggest stage. Perhaps, the next star could have been on the team rather than Biles. Instead Biles goes tot he Olympics and then says its all just too much when her team needed her the most.
Its all about endorsements and money. If she stayed home rather than go to the Olympics, it would have cost her millions. So she goes to the Olympics and all of a sudden, its all too much for her? Come on.

Oof

 

[imno1]

On the men’s side did anyone see the kid from ROC perform just 3&1/2 months after an Achilles injury?

 

[Kenny11]

On the men’s side did anyone see the kid from ROC perform just 3&1/2 months after an Achilles injury?

really? wow. akok could barely jump off hurley's diving board after 5 months.

 

[Madmannsucks]

Then she should have stayed home.
The Nasser stuff is old history. Devastating and terrible, YES. But not recent.
She simply should have stayed home rather than quit on the biggest stage. Perhaps, the next star could have been on the team rather than Biles. Instead Biles goes tot he Olympics and then says its all just too much when her team needed her the most.
Its all about endorsements and money. If she stayed home rather than go to the Olympics, it would have cost her millions. So she goes to the Olympics and all of a sudden, its all too much for her? Come on.

Wow...you actually said that-You're right-she has had plenty of time to overcome being physically violated as a child.

 

[Chin Diesel]

On the men’s side did anyone see the kid from ROC perform just 3&1/2 months after an Achilles injury?

really? wow. akok could barely jump off hurley's diving board after 5 months.

We have to assume this gymnast is being heavily tested for anything nefarious, correct?

I mean even going in with a knife and replacing a tendon with a healthy one takes months to attach, stretch, heal, etc.

 

[navery12]

I could go on a rant on this situation- but I won’t- prefer not to be harassed by everyone in this thread- but I agree with your sentiments.

Luckily you made this post anyway so we still know you're a bad guy

 

[Chin Diesel]

For the record, I'm first in predicting someone will come out with a comment along the lines of she is just doing this for attention for her documentary being filmed right now and for more personal attention when she miraculously recovers for the individual medals.

Mind you I'm not saying this is true. I'm saying someone in the national or international media is going to run with this narrative.

 

[superjohn]

For the record, I'm first in predicting someone will come out with a comment along the lines of she is just doing this for attention for her documentary being filmed right now and for more personal attention when she miraculously recovers for the individual medals.

Mind you I'm not saying this is true. I'm saying someone in the national or international media is going to run with this narrative.

Scottie Pippen?

 

[uconnever]

I knew something was up right before the olympics, she stated that she would not be able to deal with all of the stress in her life if it weren’t for her boyfriend. They haven’t been together all that long, so I thought that was strange because she was dominant long before he came along.