Simone Biles

[Cwtchycoopark]

I had never seen her perform so I am currently down a YouTube rabbit hole and I am awe struck.She is phenomenally, jaw droppingly talented and you can just tell how much she loves it. She is a complete joy to watch. She has shown such courage in prioritising her mental health over what is expected from her.

Needapoodle didn't say that, she was quoting someone else.

I was quoting someone else. I think Simone is incredible and applaud her for being brave enough to stand up and say no, and citing her mental health as the reason. It would have been easier I'm sure to say she had a physical injury but she was honest about the reason. She's a brilliant woman and she doesn't owe anyone anything.

And to whatever idiot i quoted, suffering from mental health issues isn't attention seeking and immature.

She's absolutely incredible. For anybody wanting more background regarding what's gone on in US gymnastics, Athlete A on Netflix is a harrowing but very informative documentary, just make sure you read what it's about/watch the trailer for full details before watching.

She has ADHD and I know not everyone with ADHD is the same but it just blows my mind that she can do what she does but in a way it also makes total sense that someone with ADHD would do what she does

[quote DownUnder87]Make sure you watch her Rio routines. She has so much joy and personality in her performances. She definitely has been off her game this season, unfortunately.

Here is Kerri Strug's vault. You can see how much pain she's in, but she was credited with winning the US their first gold and on home turf.

[/quote] Oh my god, I can't believe they made her do that. Its abuse, plain and simple. That poor girl. She looks ready to pass out even brfore she does the vault. And then her coach? carrying her off looking like the cat that got the cream and you can tell she is trying not to scream in pain.

Seems unfair that she's getting stick from withdrawing when she's only doing so to avoid injury as she would hopefully feel able to if physical issue, the brains the coordinator so quite vital. I find it interesting that the go to for anything MH is that should be able to get a grip & carry on.

Sure Simone has ADHD too which makes emotional regulation harder and fucks with executive functioning. I think it shows immense strength to say enough and look after her own wellbeing than trying to meet the high expectations, I'm sure she is gutted for her team.

You know when you drive a lot and it's fine, you almost do it on autopilot? But if you think about what you have to do you struggle to get it right? In my head this is what she means by the twisties and she is 100% right to pull out.

Simone did the right thing at the time. It was brave as there remains stigma around mental illness.

We have no idea of her MH before the Olympics. She may have deteriorated while at the games.

If she had serious MH problems beforehand then the American Gymnastics Association is at fault. The only person that missed out if they knew before the games was the gymnast that just missed out on a place in the team. That would the same if they did not properly assess an existing physical problem. We will likely never know.

You an already predict what responses would have been had she done the move and suffered a life changing injury from it, it would of been, if she knew then she should of not done it!

Its like your driving and you see a car about to hit you, of course your going to move out of the way your not going to deliberately let it hit you and risk injury!

People can be so stupid!

I'm always glad to see people do what is right for them irrespective of pressure from others.

She did the right thing, the thing I would have wanted my child to do if they were in her shoes.

Oh my god, I can't believe they made her do that. Its abuse, plain and simple. That poor girl. She looks ready to pass out even brfore she does the vault. And then her coach? carrying her off looking like the cat that got the cream and you can tell she is trying not to scream in pain.

And it's gone down in history as this iconic, epic moment of pushing through pain. She was a child.

You can guarantee that any American gymnast has watched this over and over. This is what you're taught to live up to and emulate.

A silver lining is that Simone was so quickly listened to.

Oh my god, I can't believe they made her do that. Its abuse, plain and simple. That poor girl. She looks ready to pass out even brfore she does the vault. And then her coach? carrying her off looking like the cat that got the cream and you can tell she is trying not to scream in pain.

Her vault was completely unnecessary, the USA had already provided enough points for the gold. So not only was she forced into a career ending injury at 19 but in that video you can see she was handed off to none other than Larry Nassar.

@motherheroic is that Larry Nassar carrying her off at the end?

The video captions said she sustained a light ankle injury after a poor landing and she needed to complete that vault to win the US the gold - ffs.

[quote Cwtchycoopark]@motherheroic is that Larry Nassar carrying her off at the end?

The video captions said she sustained a light ankle injury after a poor landing and she needed to complete that vault to win the US the gold - ffs.[/quote]
Not in this video specifically but there is another video where after she lands the vault she is carried off the mat and given to the paedophile doctor.

'A light ankle injury' aka two torn ligaments. The coaches did not tell her that her second vault wasn't needed and Kerri herself said if they had told her she wouldn't have done it.

The American team got a silver. To us that's impressive. But not to the Americans. That will be seen as not good enough. Failure. Hugely competitive. This will be scrutinised and analysed.

Her every move, her clapping the team, will all be reviewed, criticised, analysed. Her whole life plays out in front of the cameras. A number of posters saudcthe light was gone from her eyes and she looked lost. That is so sad. Ideally personal traumas and growth are done behind closed doors, but she chose that life, and that what it means, the admiration when you get gold, the criticism when you fail.

Below the definition of failure was discussed. But our definition of failure is not how it's seen, compared to the American gymnast mentality aka Doctor Larry.

"If she had serious MH problems beforehand then the American Gymnastics Association is at fault. "

Bet that's the case!

The American Gymnastics Association hasn't got any better or learnt anything from the Nassar saga. They haven't admitted fault, done anything really! Quelle Surprise!

@Iwonder08

She stopped after getting a very low score. After which she announced her mental health issues and left the team without a team member. No, I don't admire that. If she was not in the right head space she should have given her place to another gymnast before the start of the competition.

You just haven't understood anything that has been written about her, team statements, anything here etc.

As one posters, ex gymnast, clearly explained, she qualified on merit, was on very good form. Twistees, inner ear disfunction, can be very sudden onset, we may have actually seen the moment it kicked in - on the most dangerous skill too!

When you have an understanding of the physiology involved come back and let us know!

@curiousaboutSamphire I understood very well, thank you. I am very supportive of anyone with either mental health issues or physical health issues. She has all the rights in the world to withdraw at any stage of the competition. My problem is glorification and calling her a hero. After the last performance she had 2 choices: 1) continue and pretty much guarantee to have a very low total score given her current form 2) announce mental health issues (which I don't doubt) and withdraw in glory, getting a worldwide praise and support. It is a bloody easy choice.

My problem is glorification and calling her a hero. After the last performance she had 2 choices: 1) continue and pretty much guarantee to have a very low total score given her current form 2) announce mental health issues (which I don't doubt) and withdraw in glory, getting a worldwide praise and support. It is a bloody easy choice.

She had 4 choices. 1. Carry on and get a low score. 2. Carry on and sustain a life changing injury. 3. Withdraw claiming to have a physical injury, which nobody in the world would question as being a good reason to withdraw. 4. Withdraw citing mental health and be torn apart across the world by armchair critics who don't think mental health is a valid reason to withdraw.

She's heroic because she has been honest about why she withdrew, knowing that she'd attract a shitload of criticism for it in a world that still sees mental health as a weakness/attention seeking/just an excuse. Even on this bloody thread, you don't have to look far.

She's a young woman who is a sexual abuse survivor who has been through more trauma and been put under more pressure than most people and she's always come out fighting. What about her so far suggests she has ever taken the easy way out? She testified at nassars trial, then returned to the training facility where she was abused, in order to ensure that what he did couldn't be brushed under the carpet. Fuck anyone who thinks she's weak, or that she's a quitter. She's a lot stronger than you.

You've no idea of the strength and bravery it takes in a world that thinks you should just "get over" poor mental health, to stand up and claim it and that it doesn't diminish you. That's why she's a hero. You'd only disagree with that if you think that the Olympics is worth more than this woman's health.

So this “twistees” is it a temporary problem or is it something that once they experience it that it remains with them?

Beth Tweddle was explaining on the BBC, she said it depends on the athlete, it can cause a 'mental block' that can last a long time but is different with different gymnasts, she also said that with some people it is just one piece of apparatus and with others it affects their performance on all equipment.

She was saying it is something you go back to basics with and work back up, not something you can do in the middle of a competition.

Strug's second vault guaranteed USA the gold, but it also took her out of her chance at individual medals.

Another vote for Athlete A - the number of injuries gymnast have when competing is incredible.

My problem is glorification and calling her a hero. After the last performance she had 2 choices: 1) continue and pretty much guarantee to have a very low total score given her current form 2) announce mental health issues (which I don't doubt) and withdraw in glory, getting a worldwide praise and support. It is a bloody easy choice

The “heroism” is because after years of abuse in gymnastics, with gymnasts forced to train and perform moves that risk their lives, with the Kerri Strug narrative that this is what they need to do for their team, it’s part of gymnastics.

Previously when gymnasts haven’t been able to to this it’s been catastrophic. See Elena Mukhina and Julissa Gomez.

So for someone to actually be able to stand up and say no, something’s not right, and withdraw on such a big stage after the past year of athlete A, of the British gymnastics Whyte Review, of hundreds of gymnasts calling out coaches and team officials for their bullying and coercive practices, is huge.

It’s like Domestic abuse. Yes they should all just leave, but we know due to coercive control and emotional abuse that they won’t or can’t. Imagine if someone seriously high profile stood up and left their marriage due to DA, we’d all stand and applaud that as we need that example for ordinary people to have the courage to do the same.

On it’s own, with no context, it shouldn’t be a big thing. It’s against the background of years of abuse and not being able to say no because of the “win at all costs” mentality.

It’s like Domestic abuse. Yes they should all just leave, but we know due to coercive control and emotional abuse that they won’t or can’t. Imagine if someone seriously high profile stood up and left their marriage due to DA, we’d all stand and applaud that

Some people would. Some people would say stuff like, there's two sides to every story, why didn't she say something before, it takes two to tango, they always seemed so happy, she shouldn't be breaking up her marriage for something like that, but he seems like such a nice guy, he's always has a temper why did she get involved with him.

Much like what gymnasts endure. Why didn't she say something before, why doesn't she just say no, two sides to every story, he seems like a nice guy. He just wants her to win, the gymnasts know what it's like, they shouldn't compete if they can't cope with the pressure. She shouldn't have tried out for the Olympics, she doesn't deserve a place there.

Yet when simone has stood up and said no, she gets called weak and a quitter.

[quote Iwonder08]@curiousaboutSamphire I understood very well, thank you. I am very supportive of anyone with either mental health issues or physical health issues. She has all the rights in the world to withdraw at any stage of the competition. My problem is glorification and calling her a hero. After the last performance she had 2 choices: 1) continue and pretty much guarantee to have a very low total score given her current form 2) announce mental health issues (which I don't doubt) and withdraw in glory, getting a worldwide praise and support. It is a bloody easy choice.[/quote]
Of course it's not an easy choice. She is incredibly brave to say she couldn't carry on and then to go back out to support her teammates.

I would say that was the harder decision and as it's been said repeatedly on this tread if she had competed she could have caused herself serious injury.

@Needapoodle

My problem is glorification and calling her a hero. After the last performance she had 2 choices: 1) continue and pretty much guarantee to have a very low total score given her current form 2) announce mental health issues (which I don't doubt) and withdraw in glory, getting a worldwide praise and support. It is a bloody easy choice.

She had 4 choices. 1. Carry on and get a low score. 2. Carry on and sustain a life changing injury. 3. Withdraw claiming to have a physical injury, which nobody in the world would question as being a good reason to withdraw. 4. Withdraw citing mental health and be torn apart across the world by armchair critics who don't think mental health is a valid reason to withdraw.

She's heroic because she has been honest about why she withdrew, knowing that she'd attract a shitload of criticism for it in a world that still sees mental health as a weakness/attention seeking/just an excuse. Even on this bloody thread, you don't have to look far.

She's a young woman who is a sexual abuse survivor who has been through more trauma and been put under more pressure than most people and she's always come out fighting. What about her so far suggests she has ever taken the easy way out? She testified at nassars trial, then returned to the training facility where she was abused, in order to ensure that what he did couldn't be brushed under the carpet. Fuck anyone who thinks she's weak, or that she's a quitter. She's a lot stronger than you.

You've no idea of the strength and bravery it takes in a world that thinks you should just "get over" poor mental health, to stand up and claim it and that it doesn't diminish you. That's why she's a hero. You'd only disagree with that if you think that the Olympics is worth more than this woman's health.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

The psychological damage caused to those women may never be undone. The bit that I found the most chilling in athlete A was the fact the Dr was the ‘kind one’ to them. All of the adults around them at those camps were abusive in different ways. How much of their achievements have been tainted by what they’ve endured? I read the witness statement by one of the 2012 gold medalists who was abused while at the London olympics. I’m not sure how those young women will ever quite process what happened to them in the pursuit of winning and the mixed emotions. If all of that has come flooding back for Biles at the olympics (as has been alluded to) it will be serious. She has expressed suicidal thoughts before.

People who are criticising her by saying she’s making up her ‘mental health’ because she’s a sore loser are awful.