Simone Biles: "Assessing and prioritising her mental health"

There's been an outpouring of support from within the sporting world for the American gymnast, Simone Biles. The 24 year-old and four-time Olympic gold medallist withdrew from the individual all-round gymnastics finals at Tokyo 2020, saying she has to focus on her mental health.

Amanda Owens, a leading sport and performance psychologist, has been on the British Olympic Association Psychology Advisory Panel for more than twenty years. She says that the combined pressures of the sporting competition and Covid management mean the Games are very pressured this year and that it's a positive step for Simone Biles to be assessing and prioritising.

She says that Team GB (Great Britain's Olympic team) have a psychologist and mental health professionals monitoring and supporting them at Tokyo, and that this is a "visionary" step.

"It's great that she's assessing and prioritising her mental health and mental wellbeing. She's self aware and open."

Photo: Simone Biles at the medal ceremony for artistic gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics, July 2021 Credit: Reuters