It’s not often that Americans’ attention is centered on gymnastics, but such is the power of the Olympic Games. Unfortunately this year, the most attention is focused not on the athletes who are competing, but on one who dropped out of several team and individual events.
Such is the power of Simone Biles being considered perhaps the best U.S. gymnast to ever put on a leotard, that your absence looms larger than any presence. And thanks to her, we now know about “the twisties.”
What many sports call “the yips,” gymnasts call “the twisties” – a sudden and unexplained loss of skills in experienced athletes, according to The New York Times. Symptoms include losing fine motor skills and psychological issues that impact athletes’ muscle memory and decision-making, leaving them unable to perform basic skills.
Ian Baker-Finch and David Duval were first-class golfers before the yips turned them into second-rate performers. In baseball, Steve Blass was an All-Star pitcher before he inexplicably lost his command, All-Star second baseball Steve Sax suddenly lost his ability to throw accurately to first base and promising catcher Mackey Sasser could not throw the ball back to the pitcher without tapping his mitt several times.
However, there’s a big difference between golfers, baseball players and gymnasts – what Biles does can, quite literally, kill you. Biles said on Instagram that she “literally cannot tell up from down," which would be a heckuva way to feel when you’re trying to flip 21/2 times with a twist off a vault while running at full speed.
Common treatments include clinical sport psychology therapy as well as refocusing attention on the underlying biomechanics of their physical actions, The Times reported, but the impact varies widely. To her credit, Biles on Tuesday is scheduled to partake in the balance beam finals, her last chance to make an impact at these Summer Games.
Naturally, people who could barely do a somersault on the ground chimed in to share their two cents on Biles. Texas Deputy Attorney General Aaron Reitz shared the unforgettable 1996 moment of Kerri Strugg competing while injured before tweeting, "Contrast this with our selfish, childish national embarrassment, Simone Biles.”
Charlie Kirk claimed Biles was "weak" and a "shame to the country.” Piers Morgan called Biles a letdown to her country, teammates and fans, adding that “there's nothing heroic or brave about quitting because you're not having 'fun.’ ”
What a ridiculous thing to say. As a former athlete, there is nothing fun about not being able to perform at your best. If Biles had twisted her ankle, most everyone would have understood that physical limitations kept her off the floor, yet when her mental health is actually risking her physical health she deserves condemnation?
When I was 8 years old playing little league for the first time, the first ball I ever saw as a batter hit me in the helmet. In my next at-bat one game later, I was nailed in the back. It took years before I would settle in enough at the plate to become halfway decent, but I never completely got over the fear of being hit. (Which maybe is why I threw inside so much as a pitcher myself, but I digress.)
Is Biles a “hero” for withdrawing? Not exactly, but she did what she had to do to protected herself. Life will continue long after the Olympics ends, and she shouldn’t have to spend it as a paraplegic because she landed on her head trying for gold when her body and mind were not in sync.