Simone Biles
It has been 8 years since Biles’ debut on the world stage in Rio. Eight years since she secured gold in the all-around, team, vault, and floor exercises. Eight years since she seized the world’s attention and boy, has she held tight. At the age of 27, she is practically considered a grandma in gymnastics age. Yet, anyone who has seen her compete knows that she is far from it. Gymnasts are skilled at many things but longevity has never been one of them--the grueling training sessions and famously strict coaches and diets take a toll on young bodies--but not on Simone. Biles’ has yet seemed to hit her peak despite being points ahead of everyone else and that is perhaps contributed to her self-care regimen.
Biles exhibits a sort of greatness that the other athletes simply do not have. Among the crowds of Olympic athletes glittering against the dark Parisian night sky, Biles and her teammates are as difficult to pinpoint as needles in a haystack. Between the 6’8 Men’s Rugby player and 6’10 basketball players, Biles would normally be buried in the background. However, despite her 4’8 stature, the gymnast has such a commanding and confident aura aout her even ebside these towering athletes. Even the term ‘small but mighty’ fails to encompass all of Biles’ presence. With muscular shoulders that can propel itself double its height into the air to dainty fingers that extend to the end of every move.
She methodically flips a switch and instantly turns into a tumbling powerhouse -- soaring gracefully through the air, as if in full control of the astounding gravity pulling her down. Biles’ technique is reminiscent of none other -- and that is what makes it so special. No other athletes has been able to capture the audience’s rapt attention quite like Biles. She even has the most nonchalant of nonchalant celebrities wrapped around her finger. Snoop Dogg, sitting in the stands (check) proudly reps a Biles shirt across his chest, puffing it out to anyone willing to take a look. In the stands, a begrudging father, dragged to the gymnastics arena is even willing to put down his swimming livestream to hold the honor of being able to watch Biles perform.
Biles’ legacy is not only limited to her performance. Off the mat, Biles has become a huge advocate for mental health. Famously, during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Biles pulled out of the competition, citing a case of the ‘twisties’. Despite its unserious and childlike term, the feeling itself is nothing childlike. The “twisties”, often also referred to as a mental block, happens when an athlete loses the sense of where they are in the air and are unable to push past the mental barriers that may be causing this lack of awareness. Gymnastics is ultimately a mental game--one wandering thought and you may find yourself with a pouding headache of a concussion and 2 different broken bones. To work up the courage to propel yourself upside down and into the air goes against every human instinct that has ever existed. That is why technique is often times placed before difficulty -- it is important that an athlete can execute a skill well before they move onto the next. Pushing one’s mind and body beyond what it can endure is part of the sport but just like any other athlete, too far and everything will come crashing down.
