At just 24, Biles already has four Olympic gold medals and 19 other golds from the World Championships. She is a gymnastics star and one of America’s most respected female athletes. Fans are expecting her to shine at the Tokyo Olympics.

Instead, the gymnast withdrew from the group competition on Tuesday after one round and left the individual competition a day later. Biles said she needed to focus on her mental health.

Sports psychologist Gabriela Kloudová emphasizes that an athlete’s mental health is just as important as their physical health. If an athlete is unable to concentrate 100%, not only will their performance suffer, but they may also suffer serious injuries.

“Sometimes there is a phenomenon called over-thinking, when we think too much about the performance, control it too much, and as a result our muscles do not react automatically and there are delays, sometimes even injuries,” he explained to Aktualně.cz.

Biles herself admitted that during the ascent she lost control of her position while in the air, which is very dangerous in her sport. This was also confirmed by former gymnast and British sports editor Alison Kervin, who responded to some offensive comments on social media after Biles’ move.

Yelena Mikhin broke her neck again while doing a somersault and died from her injuries. Gymnastics is very dangerous,” she wrote on Twitter.

Due to mental issues, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka recently withdrew from the French Open, who did not want to talk to journalists after the match due to anxiety.

“I hope there will be a socialization of psychology. If we break our leg, it is not strange to say we are going to the doctor. The same goes for psychology, from my point of view. I hope that more athletes will be able to open up about this,” he told Kloudová.

More pressure than ever

“Athletes are used to dealing with challenging situations both physically and mentally. If it gets to the point where they can’t start, that’s really extreme,” Kloudová thinks. She says inadequate prevention in the area of ​​mental health could make the situation worse.

At the same time, the pressure on top athletes is greater than ever. Thanks to social networks, they can share all their successes with their fans and thus get immediate motivation for further training, but for some athletes, this only increases the pressure before the competition.

As one British newspaper commentator pointed out Guardif athletes do not perform well, they cannot hide and gain more power like they did 20 or 30 years ago. Their lives are like the lives of celebrities, and there are articles and comments on the Internet that constantly remind them of their failures.

“There are boundaries between an athlete and a person. An athlete is not a robot and fans should see them that way. Everyone has boundaries somewhere, and if an athlete feels that this is his boundary, he should determine it himself,” Kloudová added.

A national disappointment and disgrace

Both athletes have faced a wave of criticism for their decisions. During the Olympics, he did not skimp Russian media. “Yes, you need to heal your nerves after the defeat by our gymnasts,” the sports site wrote on Twitter, for example. Championship. Russian newspaper Sport-Express, on the other hand, used the headline “inglorious end” for an article about the gymnast.

In contrast, conservative British TV commentator Piers Morgan said of Biles that she had let her country down. And tennis player Osaka even before that be marked because of narcissism. Fox News sports commentator Ben Baller called the gymnast selfish, and the Texas deputy attorney general said she was a national disgrace.

But he also came supportsuch as from the American Gymnastics Association or former First Lady Michelle Obama. In response, Biles wrote that she only now realizes that she has gone beyond her athletic achievements and thanked everyone for their support.

Video: Jelínek: Biles Should Be a Hero, Athletes Under Pressure, Even Death Threats