AfterSimone Biles' stunningwithdrawal from the women’s gymnastics team finals, her former teammateAly Raismanemphasizes that “none of us know what it feels like to be Simone Biles right now.”
“You know, I felt like I had a lot of pressure and that was nothing compared to what Simone has on her right now,” Raisman, 27, says. “Simone has more pressure than any other gymnast I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. And it’s a lot. And I think that it’s a bigger conversation of, you know, there needs to be better systems out there to support the mental health of athletes and to help athletes navigate how much pressure they’re under.”
Simone Biles at the team event.
Raisman believes there was too much of an assumption that theU.S. would automatically win gold.
“From my perspective, when I was watching the lead-up to the games, it almost seemed like people forgot how hard winning a gold medal is,” she says. “And, you know, my coach told me when I was younger, that being number one in the world or being favored to win is the hardest position to be in the world as an athlete, because there’s so much pressure on you.”
ThatBiles explained the situation at allis impressive, Raisman says.
“I think it’s really brave of her to vulnerably share that the reason why she didn’t finish the competition, I think it takes so much courage to do that.”
“[I’m] also very proud of the other gymnasts because some of them weren’t expected to compete in the other events. And so when Simone went out, they stepped up and they did it,” Raisman says. “And what people don’t realize is they probably didn’t warm up in the back gym. So they kind of had to like throw a routine [together] mentally, not preparing to have to do it that day, and to do that in the Olympic team final is so much pressure. And so I’m just very proud of all of them. I wish I could give them a hug in person.”
In the hours since Biles pulled out of the team event, Raisman says she has texted with the gymnast.
“I am just sending her all the love and support and just hope that she’s having a really good night’s sleep,” Raisman says, adding that she hopes “she wakes up tomorrow and she feels good.”
Simone Biles with coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
