Simone Biles.Withdraws From Olympics, Redefining Heroism in Sports

The American gymnastSimone Biles.rocked the sports world with her decision to pull out of events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, citing her mental health. She withdrew from the women’s team finals, the all-around individual competition, and the event finals for the vault, uneven bars, and floor. All eyes had been on the 24-year-old Biles, who is the most decorated female U.S. gymnast, with 31 World or Olympic medals.

Biles spoke candidly with reporters about her decision, saying she wasn’t in the right state of mind to compete and she believed leaving the competition would give her team the best chance at a medal. The U.S. women’s gymnastics team won silver.

“我说，先是精神健康，”贝尔斯告诉记者press conference。“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.”

在比赛的第二周期间，班队确实继续在平衡梁上竞争并赢得铜牌。她也透露了一个press conferencethat her aunt had died unexpectedly over the course of the games. "At the end of the day, people don't understand what we are going through," she told reporters.

由于她的心理健康，博物士决定从奥林匹克舞台上下台，追随最近的几个突出运动员关于和优先考虑他们的心理健康，认识到其表现所扮演的关键作用。网球伟大Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Openearlier this year, also citing her mental health.

Biles qualified for four additional individual events scheduled for next week. She has not confirmed whether or not she will compete in those events.

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Biles’s Decision Is a Huge Step for Mental Health

Jamey Houle, PhD是俄亥俄州州立大学韦斯医疗中心的体育心理学家和俄亥俄州竞技竞技队的领先体育心理学家，说班博士通过决定退出本周的活动来设置先例。

“The decision to focus on her mental health made a huge step forward for parity between mental and physical health,” Dr. Houle says.

With a physical injury, the impact can be immediate and the limitation posed to physical performance may be more visible. But mental health conditions, left unacknowledged or untreated, can have significant consequences, too, and Biles’s actions spotlighted that.

“当人们试图”通过“一种心理健康问题时，他们否认他们的经历，无论是他们的想法还是感受，”霍尔说。否认你的感受或思考实际上可以让事情变得更糟。

As more athletes speak out about mental health issues, they pave the way for it to become more normal and acceptable to speak about our mental health needs, Houle adds. “They are showing that it is okay to not be okay.”

“我的心脏走向Simone Biles。我鼓励她抽出时间来照顾她的心理健康需求，”帕特里斯哈里斯，MD, apsychiatrist和日常卫bob体育在线生医疗主编large.

"Our athletes, particularly world class athletes on the Olympic stage, are under a lot of pressure, and typically they power through — but sometimes at a cost to their mental health. Biles is leading by example that whether you're a world class athlete or an individual participating in sports at any level, we should all prioritize our mental health," Dr. Harris says.

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Biles Sheds Light on the Pressures Athletes Face

For decades, the type of support athletes could get off the field centered on improving academic and athletic performance, not mental health, says蒂莫西尼尔密歇根州安娜堡协会大学的运动培训计划主任。

Yet athletes are not immune to mental health disorders, Neal says. Research shows that as many as one in four adults in the United States suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder in a given year, according to约翰霍普金斯医学。

If anything, the uniquebob bet体育 精英运动员的脸呆在ga的顶部me may place them at greater risk than other people for developing or exacerbating mental health disorders, Neal says. There are pressures from an early age to be successful, to be a starting player, and to be selected for scholarships. Later on there are pressures to continue your success, to be profitable, and then to be under constant media scrutiny once you do reach that elite level. “All of these are contributing factors,” Neal says.

帮助运动员在近年来近年来，近年来，近年来，近年来，近年来，近年来，这些压力源导航Tamara Valovich McLeod，PHD, a professor of sports medicine and the director of athletic training programs at A.T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona.

例如，Brian Hainline，MD，使心理健康成为他的首要任务 - 之前concussions- 当他成为的时候chief medical officer for the NCAA去年，Mcleod博士。和国家运动培训师协会和American Medical Society for Sports Medicinehave both put out statements urging coaches, trainers, and clinicians to prioritize athletes’ mental health.

“Collectively, perhaps we are making progress,” McLeod says.

But a lot of young athletes, particularly if they aren’t on Division I college teams, may not have access to athletic trainers or have coaches who recognize the importance of mental health, McLeod says.

The 24-hour scrutiny on social media amplifies these pressures. “Criticism from social media is increasing tremendously, particularly among young athletes,” says布拉德唐豪，博士, a licensed clinical psychologist and psychology professor at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, who studies how mental health affects athletic performance.

在互联网和社交媒体的崛起之前，当运动员无法审查时，就会发生停机时间，但这是不再如此，但洛乐补充道。“有时压力可能太多，肯定会太多。”

Will Biles’s Decision Redefine What Athletic Heroism Looks Like?

在本周之前，体操历史上的令人难忘的时刻是美国体操运动员Kerri Strug在1996年奥林匹克队在亚特兰大的奥运会上摔断了踝关节。从边线来看，她的教练贝拉卡里利敦促她在破碎的脚踝上完成第二个拱顶。她做了，帮助女性团队赢得金子;然后karolyi脱掉垫子。

Strug was held up as a national hero for displaying perseverance, “powering through,” and putting the needs of the team first, saysSharon Chirban，PHD，临床体育心理学家和所有者放大健康与性能，基于波士顿的临床心理学实践，专门与运动员一起使用。

本周的套房被誉为一种非常不同种类的勇气。

“At times athletes power through injury and emotional stress, and can sacrifice their well-being due to expectations from others,” says Dr. Chirban, who also serves as a mental health provider for the NBA Player’s Association. Instead, Biles’s decision exemplifies how important taking care of your own needs really is.

“It's okay sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself, because it shows how strong a competitor and person you really are, rather than just battle through it,” Biles told reporters.

美国体操很快赞美贝尔斯，让她的心理健康成为优先事项。

“We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being,”USA Gymnastics said on Twitter。“她的勇气又称，为什么她是这么多的榜样。”

Biles的Frank对来自东京活动的撤回中发挥的力量健康的担忧随之而来她已经表现出的勇气，她已经披露了美国体操队Doctor Larry Nasser的过去的性虐待症，所以Michael Lindsey，Phd，MPH是，纽约大学省贫困政策研究所和纽约市贫困政策研究所的执行董事，研究青少年心理健康和自杀预防。

“She is continuing that bravery with her latest revelations and decision to place her mental health and well-being first above other considerations,” Dr. Lindsey says.

“Simone Biles加入了越来越多的顶级运动员 - Naomi Osaka，迈克尔菲尔普斯肯尼斯蒂尔斯仍然是少数 - 谁在开放他们的心理健康斗争，“Lindsey补充道。“这些运动员的勇气有助于拆除耻辱，以解决心理健康。”

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