Not many people knew what “twisties” were prior to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, but they quickly learned when women’s gymnastics phenom Simone Biles withdrew from several events because of it, making the star’s mental health a pivotal part of the Olympics commentary this time around.
Biles has been open about going to therapy, and this summer in Paris, the GOAT (if we’re using formal titles), won gold medals in the team final, all-around final and vault final. She also won silver on floor.
And it isn’t just Biles. Several other moments at the Paris Olympics this summer have put a positive spotlight on mental health:
Stephen Nedoroscik, “the pommel horse guy,” had a viral moment when he was seen meditating before his event. Plus, high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine sought out a different sort of rest. Mahuchikh was seen climbing into a sleeping bag during her event, taking a nap between jumps. And sprinter Noah Lyles, the newly crowned fastest man in the world, said in a social media post: “I have asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety and depression. But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become.”
All those athletes took home coveted metals for their countries.
Yet, athletes haven’t always spoken very openly about their mental health or how it’s impacting their performance. It has been a refreshing change to see that shift, shaking off the apparent stigma around it.
And this openness can be important, experts say, not just for athletes, but for fans, too.
Why elite sports are also a mind game
Mindfulness – the cognitive ability to be fully present and being aware of one’s thoughts and feelings – is helpful in combating stress, but honing the skill could be what separates a great athlete from an even better one.
Gretchen Schmelzer, a licensed psychologist who was a U.S. national champion in rowing and trained for the U.S. women’s rowing team alongside those who would go on to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, says often, training harder than competition is “a mind game, not a physical game.”
“At the level of elite athletics, it is your mind that distinguishes you from the person sitting next to you,” says Schmelzer, who is also an author and co-founder of the Center for Trauma and Leadership.
And developing and maintaining mental capacity could be key in competition.
“Being able to regulate your physiological response to stress is how we perform at the highest level,” says Peter Economou, assistant professor of applied psychology at Rutgers University and director of behavioral health and wellness for Rutgers University Athletics.
When the conversation about mental health shifted
In the years since Biles withdrew in Tokyo, athletes are more publicly open about their mental health, but something that happened before that may have spurred the shift, Schmelzer says.
The Larry Nassar sex abuse case may actually have been the “defining moment about mental health and sports,” Schmelzer says, with so many gymnasts coming forward, testifying and being open about getting help for the trauma.
Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor and Michigan State University doctor, was arrested in 2016 and found to have sexually assaulted hundreds of women and girls, including Olympic champions, under the guise of providing medical treatment.
‘A person can only take so much’
Other factors could also have influenced athletes’ attitudes to encourage more openness about mental health.
Athletes are sharing more with the public in general, like on social media, about many aspects of their life, such as training, diet or sleep habits. On TikTok, it’s easy to find athletes giving tours of the Olympic Village and showing off their pre-competition preparations.
This cultural shift has helped more people, like Lyles, feel comfortable posting about their personal struggles.
Aside from that, not only has stigma about mental health lessened in the U.S., but the world has gotten more stressful over time, too, and “a person can only take so much before they need support,” Schmelzer says.
So how can we take the lessons from this Olympics and apply it to our own lives? For starters, we can follow these athletes’ lead and speak openly with those around us about what we’re feeling.
And as for our own mindfulness? Schmelzer says, try “taking 10 minutes in the morning, sitting outside and just looking at a tree, or going for a walk or talking to a therapist.” It can be as simple as that.
