On goats
When I wrote about being intentional about perseverance, I couldn’t have known that the person widely considered the greatest gymnast of all time would withdraw from two finals in the Olympics. Last week, inspired by a tearful founder announcing their new startup, having had to close down a previous one last year, I was mostly thinking about businesses and projects. Now, I can’t help but think about the gymnast GOAT, Simone Biles.
People who never have and never will be in her shoes are quick to judge, but what do we know? We, mere mortals who have never been in her position of ‘feeling the weight of the world’ on her shoulders. But maybe we can imagine. If you have ever been in a make or break, this is your last chance to save your company/project/whatever, high-stress situation – you will likely remember the nauseating stress beforehand. Whatever was the outcome of your meeting or action your body will remember what it felt to be so stressed your brain hurt. I don’t know what Biles is going through but it can’t be fun.
USA Gymnastic stands firmly behind their star, hopefully not only because they fear serious injury if she competes. But showing how small cracks can shatter a thick glass, Biles referred to Naomi Osaka’s brave statement two months ago as she withdrew from Paris Open not wanting to expose herself to the additional stress of facing the press.
The glass that is being shattered is a wall of illusion that has long lionised exceptional talent and exceptional performance, demanding all-around perfection on the ‘job’. Of course, they can’t have mental health issues, of course they can’t feel stress and jitters and if they do they just push through no matter the cost. They are there because they are not human like us. Otherwise, we should be the ones standing there. And if they crack, well, we can ridicule their less-than-superhuman behaviour – maybe, after all, they didn’t really deserve to be there in the first place.
I don’t know which would have required more terrifying bravery from Biles, withdrawing or going ahead in that state. Both sounds incredibly scary. She made the decision that was right for her, then and there. At the minimum, people should respect that. After all, this is a woman who won a world title while passing a kidney stone. Surely if she can’t go on there is a serious reason.
But I can’t help thinking of all the coverage of Biles in the run-up to the Olympics. She was everywhere. In every magazine, pre-crowned as the sportswoman who will walk away with 6 gold medals, easy. Imagine the pressure that creates. Even if you are at a level where you regularly perform moves no other woman dares to try. Even when you are at a stage in your career where you really don’t have much left to prove – on good days you are, in fact, competing against yourself. But the pressure to be even more ground-breaking and perfect, to outperform yourself, again and again, is enormous.
Even Michael Phelps commented ‘it’s OK not to be OK’. He also admitted his own mental health struggles and depression. Biles is certainly not alone. Is it harder still for women? When it comes to scrutiny, yes. This article is a very sobering read on the mental health of Olympians, with about a third of them suffering. ‘In an analysis of more than 18,000 data points from print, online, broadcast and social media sources covering track and field, swimming, tennis, gymnastics and soccer, 69% of negative mentions were about female athletes compared to 31% about male athletes.’ It’s time we accepted that mental health issues are real and present for elite performers. Just today Japan's Yui Ohashi won in the individual medley double with victory in the 200m, but she said her triumph was a reward for persevering when she struggled with depression and wanted to give up swimming.
We don’t know exactly what happened to Simone Biles, this incredibly talented, hardworking woman, that day when her vault didn’t happen the way she originally planned. But whatever happened shook her confidence. And at that level, your confidence rules. When your confidence is shaken, something shifts inside you and you need to find your way back to yourself. I wish wholeheartedly for Simone Biles that whatever she decides for the rest of the competition, she finds her way back to her whole self, whatever that means. She remains, in any case, the GOAT.
One last point on the Olympics and sportswomen. The new discussions about the clothing female athletes are or aren’t allowed to wear feels… well, about time. I am talking about skimpy bikini bottoms required for women to play beach handball (as opposed to the loose shorts for men) and the German gymnastic team’s full-length unitards. No, the answer is not to put male beach handball players or gymnasts into speedos. Can we please stop sexualising sportswomen? Can they please just wear whatever is comfortable for them (within reason of course) so that they are not distracted by worrying about what will slip off while they are executing moves mere mortals would never be able to?
We seem to dehumanise people performing at the highest level – the expectation being that they cannot ever fail, indeed they cannot even fail to outperform themselves, and if they do maybe they are an imposter who shouldn’t even be there.
A few months ago a psychologist ran a Twitter poll on whether the world needs more IQ or EQ. He was exasperated to find most people wanted more IQ. I can see his point. We need much, much more EQ all around.