The importance placed on mental health has been on the rise in the past few years. However, when it comes to Olympic athletes, the importance of winning for their country seems to take precedence. World-renowned Olympic gymnast Simone Biles appeared to suffer more than other athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in terms of mental health affecting her ability to perform. In a recent interview, Biles explained what was going on behind the scenes during the most recent Olympic games.  

She states that based on the various stressors in her life, she should have quit way before the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, but she continued to push herself to her limits. Several events in her personal life took a toll on her mental health and her ability to visualize her routines, events that many ordinary people may deem to be unmanageable. There was, however, an expectation of Simone Biles to compete for the pride of her country regardless of the circumstances.  

Will this interview shed some much-needed light on the impact of mental health on physical performance? Will it perhaps enforce the importance of allowing athletes to be human and take time for themselves without risking public backlash and fearing that their career will be damaged? Regardless of the outcome, Biles made the right choice by acknowledging her need for recovery time and not putting herself in harm’s way for her country’s pride. 

S.A. 

Featured image: Simone Biles poses with her Olympic bronze medal from the women’s balance beam final at the 2020 Tokyo Games. (Source: Lionel Bonaventure—Getty Images)