The incredible statement made by Simone Biles at the Tokyo Olympics has earned the legendary USA gymnast a prestigious award.
The four-time Olympic gold medallist has won Time magazine’s 2021 Athlete of the Year, in recognition of the stand she made for mental health at the Olympic Games.
The 24-year-old, who had headed to Tokyo with 32 Olympic and world championship gold medals already in the cabinet, withdrew from the team, all-round, vault, uneven bars and floor finals, citing mental health.
READ MORE: Technical switch behind Head’s Ashes masterclass
READ MORE: Mind-boggling Warner trend that finally broke
READ MORE: Supercars boss drops post-Bathurst bombshell
Biles said she had the ‘twisties’, meaning she was becoming disoriented while in the air during her routines. A routine can end in disastrous fashion if the body and mind aren’t in sync due to the high speeds at which gymnasts move.
Biles returned to competition in the balance beam, clinching bronze to match Shannon Miller’s Olympic medals tally of seven – a USA gymnastics record.
American gymnastics star Sunisa Lee said the stand Biles made for mental health at the Olympics portrayed a crucial message.
“It showed us that we are more than the sport, that we are human beings who also can have days that are hard,” Lee told Time magazine.
“It really humanised us.”
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick said Biles’ honesty had proven invaluable to the conversation around mental health.
“Her remarkable position as the world’s greatest gymnast ever to inspire a long-overdue global conversation on mental health,” Kaepernick told Time.
“Her influence extends far beyond the realm of sports and shows us that another world – a better world – is possible when we speak our truths with integrity and authenticity.”
American sprinter Allyson Felix said Biles had taught her two-year-old daughter Camryn an imperative lesson.
“To see her choose herself, we’re going to see the effects of that for the next generation,” Felix said.
“When thinking about role models for Cammy – wow, here is someone showing you can choose your mental health over what the world says is the most important thing.”
Biles claimed in January 2018 that she was sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.
It was in the same month of 2018 that Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison for molesting young female gymnasts.
The sentencing followed days of horrific testimony from about 160 of Nassar’s victims.