Review: Olympics-Gymnastics-Many 'twisties' and turns, but Biles exits Games a champion
08/08/2021 07:37
By Steve Keating
TOKYO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Simone Biles was always expected to
make headlines at the Tokyo Olympics and the U.S. gymnast did
just that, and more - but not in a way anyone would have ever
expected.
While Biles did not rewrite the Olympic record book as
planned, she did leave an indelible mark on the Tokyo Games,
changing the narrative from winning medals to championing
athlete mental health and well-being.
Suddenly everyday conversation revolved around "the
twisties", a type of mental block where gymnasts are disoriented
during their gravity-defying skills and something few outside
the sport had heard of prior to the Tokyo Olympics.
The 24-year-old had come to Japan eyeing a record haul of
six golds, which would have made her the most successful female
Olympian of all-time across any sport. But instead she suffered
a crisis of confidence dropping out of the opening event, the
team competition, after just one vault.
For the next week Biles' story would overshadow everything
else that happened at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, and much of
the Games, as she withdrew from event after event.
Not even the coronation of Japan's Daiki Hashimoto, the
winner of the men's all-around and high bar gold, plus a silver
in the men's team, as successor to his country's gymnastics
great 'King' Kohei Uchimura, could nudge Biles out of the
Olympic spotlight.
The winner of four gold medals at the 2016 Olympics, Biles
could only look on from the sidelines as first the team title
she led the United States to in Rio went to the Russian Olympic
Committee (ROC), then her individual all-around crown was
claimed by team mate Sunisa Lee.
Another U.S. team mate, Jade Carey, would replace her as
gold medallist on the floor and Brazil's Rebeca Andrade would
claim her vault title.
But in one last dramatic twist, Biles would return to action
on the balance beam for the final event of the women's
gymnastics competition on Tuesday, hoping to end a tumultuous
Games on a golden high.
There would be no storybook ending. The final gold would go
to China's Guan Chenchen, but a courageous Biles would be hailed
as a champion nonetheless after taking the bronze, the same as
she did five years earlier in Rio.
A team silver and the beam bronze bring Biles' career
Olympic haul to seven medals, but that falls far below the
target many had set for the powerhouse American.
It was that pressure and expectation that appeared to derail
Biles' Olympics, and she spoke with remarkable candour about her
decision to prioritise her mental and physical well-being.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) acknowledged that
more needs to be done for athlete well-being, particularly those
who have spoken about the crushing weight that comes with
competing in the Olympic pressure cooker.
"More could be done," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams, adding
that it was a matter that the organisation had been working on
for some time.
As Biles exited the Olympic stage, she used it to issue a
defiant reminder that athletes are human after all.
"Mentally I still have a lot of things that I have to work
on but to bring the topic of conversation on mental health to
light means the world to me," said Biles.
"People have to realise that at the end of the day we're
humans, we're not just entertainment."
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Tokyo; Editing by Kenneth
Maxwell and Michael Perry)
((steve.keating@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647-624-4094; Reuters
Messaging: steve.keating.reuters.com@reuters.net))