In the podcast by The Daily, Juliet Macur, a sports reporter from The New York Times, and a host of the show discuss the life of Simone Biles. She is considered to be one of the best and most talented gymnasts in the whole world. She tried doing gymnastics on a daycare trip, where she showed surprising flexibility, strength, and mobility. At an early age, the sportswoman had exceptional air awareness, which is crucial for this sport – when she did her flips and twists, she knew exactly where her body was in relation to the ground. In 2016, she won 4 Olympic gold medals, becoming the best American gymnast the history has known.
However, she pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics, not managing to repeat her previous Olympic record. Hence, this story makes me think how brave Simone Biles is for beginning a dialogue on the mental and physical well-being significance for people in sports.
Initially, in the podcast, the sports reporter talks on struggles Simone Biles had to deal with while achieving unprecedented goals in gymnastics. Definitely, I agree that gymnasts often go through a very traumatizing experience. From the news I know that a lot of athletes had to live through being victimized by former Team USA doctor Larry Nassar, who abused Biles and tens of other girls in professional gymnastics. For a long time, athletes had to go through the double-trauma because they felt betrayed by the Olympic Committee, who could not protect the gold medalists who were practically children. “You had one job and you could not protect us,” Biles mentions (“The Story of Simone Biles” 8:18).
I am absolutely sure that the Olympic Committee has to control their workers and regulate safe sport better, so sportsmen and sportswomen do not have to deal with such complex trauma. Moreover, I think gymnasts should be supervised and taken care of because they manage to do exercises unbearable for a regular person.
Furthermore, Juliet Macur said that Simone Biles was thought to be capable of everything regarding psychological and mental abilities due to the statistics of her brilliant sports performance. On that note, I cannot agree with the sports reporter that Simone Biles pulling out of the race was her most memorable moment. Julia Macur mentions, “One of the most amazing and shocking moments in Olympic history which is not what she does on the gymnastics floor it’s what she did off of it” (“The Story of Simone Biles” 22:30).
Personally, I think Simone Biles is undoubtedly strong enough to quit the competition to work on her psychological and physical health; however, she will be remembered for her incomparable gymnastics skills. My friends and I recollect that the sportswoman earned 32 medals in total, showing wonderful abilities. Therefore, gymnasts and other athletes are remembered for their achievements, not their public actions.
To sum up, Simone Biles clarified the problem of being overpressured and seen as amusement in the sphere of sports. The gymnast showed by example that the Olympic community could be harmful and damaging instead of supportive towards the athletes. Clearly, Biles could not handle the pressure of being constantly perceived as a means to an end; that is why she made a powerful decision to get out of the race. Her determination in protecting the well-being of people in sports was inspiring for society. Nevertheless, I am convinced her athletic skills should be put in the first place in any dialogue and remembered by the International Olympic Committee acknowledging her contribution to gymnastics.
Reference
The Story of Simone Biles. Apple Music, uploaded by The Daily. New York Times, 2021. Web.