Mental health on the Olympic podium

Simone Biles takes another first - 16th August 2021

The public expects athletes to be superhuman. They have to beat their fear, overcome their doubts and win. But recently, famous sports stars are being honest and are talking openly about the difficulties they face.

Simone Biles is probably the world's most famous gymnast, achieving four golds in Rio 2016. But in this year's Olympics in Tokyo, she made the news when she pulled out of her first competition and later ones. She explained that she needed to focus on her mental health. She did not want to risk her "health and well-being".

Biles' situation was very upsetting for Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who has now retired. After winning 23 golds at different Games, he too experienced extremely serious mental health problems, and he explained, "We're human beings. Nobody is perfect. So yes, it is OK not to be OK."

The International Olympic Committee knows about the pressure which young athletes face. It made sure that mental health was taken care of in the Olympic village in Tokyo. Specialists were available to listen and advise sportspeople who were suffering.

One former Olympian, Naoko Imoto, said mental health was a topic people still avoid in Japan. "I don't think there's enough of an understanding," she said. She added that, recently, some athletes have been more open about it, such as tennis star Naomi Osaka.

For many people, Biles and others have been incredibly honest. Hopefully, this will start to change how mental health is dealt with in sport. It has already proved itself effective for Biles. Later in the Games, she felt well enough to compete in the balance beam and won a bronze medal.