As an athlete you need to protect your mind and your body - Simone Biles has no regrets about sitting out Olympics × Follow Us Create Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Link Approve Reject & ban Delete Log in Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout Gymnastics Feature

As an athlete you need to protect your mind and your body - Simone Biles has no regrets about sitting out Olympics

By Zachary Roberts Modified 08 Sep 2022 Follow Us Comment Share Gymnastics - Artistic - Olympics: Day 11 Simone Biles became the top story when she elected to sit out of the final events of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021. One of the most decorated athletes of all time backing out of Olympic competition doesn't happen all that often. The gymnast cited mental health concerns for deciding not to compete as she didn't want to put herself or her teammates at risk. There were some who supported Biles' decision to take care of herself while others believed she should have honored her responsibility to compete for her country. Since then, Biles has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and has remained a bit of a controversial figure, given how divisive her last appearance truly was. Now, more than a year after her decision, the gymnast has no regrets. In a recent interview with Good Housekeeping, she said: "As an athlete, you need to protect your mind and your body, rather [than] just go out there and do what the world wants us to do and potentially injuring yourself. I had to put myself above all else." President Biden Awards The Presidential Medal Of Freedom To 17 Recipients Athletes have recently become more comfortable talking about their mental health issues. Speaking about the same, Biles explained: "It’s challenging to talk about how you’re doing mentally since it's an invisible injury — people can’t see it, so it’s harder to understand, but I think that’s why it’s so important we feel empowered to open up about it." Biles believes that taking care of one's mental health can directly affect athletic performance, which is a big reason why she sat out. She continued: "I learned that it’s okay not to be okay. If you don’t do what is right for you, then you're not going to enjoy your sport, and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to in whatever arena you’re competing in." Despite missing out on the possibility of winning a gold medal at the Games, the gymnast doesn't have any regrets about her decision to withdraw from the finals of the Tokyo Olympics.

Simone Biles performance at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo

Uncharacteristically, Biles had struggled to open the Olympics. She is a four-time gold medalist and seven-time medalist, and there were a lot of expectations that she would increase her total that year. However, the gymnast didn't have the best of starts in the competition, making mistakes that were unlike her. She struggled in the warmups, often falling or failing to complete as many rotations as she normally would. The gymnast left the floor after a few incidents and withdrew from the competition. She took inspiration from fellow Olympian Naomi Osaka, who famously withdrew from the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships for mental health concerns. At the time, she said: "I say put mental health first. Because if you don't, then you're not going to enjoy your sport and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to. So it's OK sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself because it shows how strong of a competitor and person that you really are — rather than just battle through it." Biles hasn't ruled out returning at the 2024 Olympics and could look to re-establish herself as one of the greats in the sports at the event in Paris. If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Good Housekeeping and H/T Sportskeeda. Poll : 0 votes Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Ritwik Kumar × Feedback Thank You! Be the first one to comment Follow Us Share Show More Comments GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ Be the first one to comment on this story More from Sportskeeda Fetching more content... 1 Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout No Results Found Get the free App now Manage notifications Popular ‍ Sports (30+) CricketCricket HomeScheduleT20 World CupT20 warm upIND vs SAENG vs PAKAUS vs ENGLegends LeagueECS T10 CroatiaWBBL 2022ECC T10SMAT 2022Bukhatir LeagueNZ T20 Tri-SeriesWomen's Asia Cup 2022ECT10 FootballFootball HomeNewslettersSK Experts ScheduleEPLNations LeagueLa LigaLigue 1Champions LeagueFIFA WCMLS Bundesliga Serie A WWEWWE HomeNewslettersRumor RoundupRAWSmackDownResultsRosterChampionsWWE Crown Jewel 2022PPV ScheduleAEW EsportsEsports HomeMinecraftOverwatch 2RobloxGenshin ImpactFortniteGTAStreamersFree FirePUBGValorantBGMIPop CultureAnimeGaming TechWiki Guides TennisTennis HomeTennis calendarTennis Results TodayATP RankingsWTA RankingsRoger FedererRafael NadalNovak DjokovicSerena Williams MMAMMA HomeUFC NewsONE ChampionshipUFC Fight NightScheduleRankingsResultsUFC Fights TonightONE Championship ResultsONE Championship ScheduleONE Championship Rankings KabaddiKabaddi HomePKL 2022PKL SchedulePKL Points TableKabaddi Rules WikiWiki HomeMinecraft WikiNaruto WikiTikTok WikiYoutube WikiGTA WikiTerraria WikiOne Piece Wiki MoreSportsBasketballIndian FootballNFLMinecraftFormula 1NascarPop CultureCollege FootballHockeyGolfAthleticsBadmintonGymnasticsWrestlingSwimmingTennisShootingBoxingArcheryWinter SportsRobloxFree PicksSkateboardingKho KhoLifestyle LINKS About Us Write For Us Policies Editorial Standards Journalism Awards Fact Check Affiliate Program Careers CSR Privacy Policy Contact Us Edition: English हिन्दी