Why Simone Biles just solidified her legacy

Just a few weeks ago, Olympic gymnastics queen Simone Biles was crowned a champion. At least in most people’s minds. All she needed to do was compete and it was a foregone conclusion that she would take home the gold.

But what many people didn’t realize is that Biles was battling something way more formidable than the Russian gymnastics team. Deep down, the stress and anxiety of competing (as well as not having her family able to attend) engulfed her, and in a matter of hours she went from likely champion to pulling out of the team and all-around competition completely. She described it as her mind and body being out of sync, and needing to do it for the sake of her mental health.

And you know what? That decision just cemented her legacy in the best way possible. 

Yes, I said that. And yes, I mean that. 

Here’s what I mean. Listen, it takes strength to twist and turn your body in the air like Simone does. That’s undeniable. Her athleticism is unmatched. She moves through the air like swallow. But I’m here to tell you something that might be hard for you to understand at first: It takes more strength to admit you’re struggling mentally and to actually take steps to get yourself right than it does to land the hardest vault in the world.

Maybe you don’t believe me. Maybe that’s hard for you to see. But I’m here to tell you it’s true. Nothing is harder than admitting your mental health is paramount, especially when you know what you are capable of physically. You can be the strongest person in the world, but if your mind isn’t in the right place it doesn’t matter.

How do I know? Because I’ve been where Simone is. No, not at the pinnacle of Olympic sport with the weight of the country on my shoulders. But as someone who has been diagnosed and struggles with anxiety and OCD, I know what it’s like to keep it bottled up, to try and “tough it out,” to suffer in silence. 

And I know what it takes to break that silence. 

As I explain in my book on anxiety, “Finding Rest,” the journey to tell the world my secret — to name and admit what was going on inside of me — was a long one, at times an excruciating one. Not everyone reacted how I had hoped they would, including those close to me. It was filled with uncertainty, a lot of “what ifs,” and an incredible amount of anxiety. 

But here’s the thing, once you let it out, once you “get it off your chest,” once you release it to the world, it is one of the most freeing and beautiful feelings there is. If the weight of the world was on Simone’s shoulders before, I can almost see her floating now.

Let me make something clear, though. I think there’s a tendency especially when talking about athletes who struggle with mental health to juxtapose their strong bodies with their “weak” minds. Please, please, please don’t do that. Anxiety, OCD, depression, and other mental health struggles do not mean you have a weak mind. They just mean that you have a different mind. In fact, some of the strongest people I know are those that do battle every day in their mind and with their mind. Why? Because they’re fighters. It takes a lot more for them to get through a day, a week, a month than it does a “normal” person. Going to work, going out with friends, taking a class may come easy to you, but it comes hard for them. Doing any of those things requires twice as much strength and perseverance than it does you.

That’s Simone.

There’s so much talk about her being super-human. Her ability is like nothing we’ve ever seen before in the gym. But now we know that as she has been pushing herself physically, she’s also been pushing herself mentally. As she has been training her body, she’s been doing battle in her mind. To know that she has battled these thoughts and feelings and still been as successful as she has is incredible to think about. This admission, then, shows us she’s stronger — not weaker — than we ever thought. 

I have a daughter who is six years old. She has become obsessed with gymnastics this summer, watching every chance she can get. Today, she learned something you can’t find on the mat, the uneven bars, or on the vault. 

That’s Simone Biles’ legacy. And you know what? I think that’s pretty super-human. That’s an incredible legacy.

So to Simone, thank you. Thank you for this incredible display of strength. Thank you for giving a face to anxiety. And thank you for being the best role model my daughter could ever dream of.