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#21 Mackus

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 11:43 AM

Has anyone in any team sport ever been called the GOAT in their sport without it being hyperbole at just age 24? 

 

 Yes, every female gymnast who held that title before. 24 is ancient for a female gymnast.



#22 Mackus

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 11:46 AM

I will say, it would have been easy to say I felt something in my foot or something injury related vs saying I didn't have it tonight. Some people will criticize no matter what but that takes courage.


Agreed. There shouldn't be, but there definitely is a strong negative stigma against taking care of mental ailments the same way you would a physical one. This is a (possibly huge) step forward for legitimizing mental concerns in athletics. Especially when viewed in tandem with Osaka recently doing something similar.
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#23 BSLRoseKatz

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 11:53 AM

 Yes, every female gymnast who held that title before. 24 is ancient for a female gymnast.

Sure but that still means it's a pretty different situation from someone who plays basketball or football in their 30s or 40s and has had more time to mentally adjust to the pressure and expectations    


she/her


#24 TwentyThirtyFive

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 12:21 PM

I don't really know anything about the gymnastics culture but what I suspect it is has to make it brutal mentally on anyone. Let alone young people.

#25 Mackus

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 12:24 PM

I don't really know anything about the gymnastics culture but what I suspect it is has to make it brutal mentally on anyone. Let alone young people.

 

I can see how any of the sports where you basically need to be perfect to have any hope would do that.  Especially the ones where it's not against a direct opponent but rather just competing in time or distance or against some theoretical ideal.

 

Needing to be perfect every single time is draining.  Even if you're just doing something silly, that anxiety builds.



#26 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 12:25 PM

I don't really know anything about the gymnastics culture but what I suspect it is has to make it brutal mentally on anyone. Let alone young people.


Swimming, gymnastics, etc...  insane amounts of training and preparation from the earliest ages.. Huge sacrifices. 
Tough on the athletes, and their families, even at levels far below best in the world. 

 

Biles has gone through a lot.  Overall, great admiration for her. 



I see some people on Twitter are pointing out how Jordan retired / stepped away due to his mental health. 
I guess it's a fair comment... but for the thousands making the same repetitive point, I don't see it also being mentioned he did so after winning.... feels like a distinction to me, but whatever.



#27 Mike in STL

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 02:05 PM


Swimming, gymnastics, etc...  insane amounts of training and preparation from the earliest ages.. Huge sacrifices. 
Tough on the athletes, and their families, even at levels far below best in the world. 

 

Biles has gone through a lot.  Overall, great admiration for her. 



I see some people on Twitter are pointing out how Jordan retired / stepped away due to his mental health. 
I guess it's a fair comment... but for the thousands making the same repetitive point, I don't see it also being mentioned he did so after winning.... feels like a distinction to me, but whatever.

Hard to make comparisons. Osaka, that's an individual sport. Biles, this was a team event. As you said, Jordan left after the season. Many football players have retired early, the more we learn about the long term effects of head injuries. But in the off-seasons. 

 

Does USA Gymnastics pay the athletes? Hardly. This is still amateurism. From what I read they get a stipend while they are training, and get paid for where they finish. The silver rather than the gold cost her and her teammates about $5k a piece. It's not like there are making life changing money like pro sports pays.

 

There are so many variables. If she had the total support of her teammates in this decision, then that should be enough because it doesn't affect anyone else. Is she a coward? No. Is she brave? I wouldn't say that either. 


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#28 Mackus

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 02:13 PM

 Is she brave? I wouldn't say that either. 

 

Like 2035 said, I think it's brave to come out and own the reason for her decision when she very easily could've hid behind a largely fictional injury.


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#29 Mackus

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 08:46 PM

https://www.click2ho...-know-about-it/

 

Sounds a lot like the yips.  In most other sports players try to play through the yips rather than take themselves out.  Of course, you can't break your neck airmailing throws to 1B or shanking chips, so I think that's a pretty reasonable course of action for a gymnast.


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#30 TwentyThirtyFive

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Posted 28 July 2021 - 09:13 PM

https://www.click2ho...-know-about-it/

Sounds a lot like the yips. In most other sports players try to play through the yips rather than take themselves out. Of course, you can't break your neck airmailing throws to 1B or shanking chips, so I think that's a pretty reasonable course of action for a gymnast.

Thats crazy. Pretty much have to bail.

#31 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 29 July 2021 - 05:55 PM

ESPN: Suni Lee on her Olympic gold medal: 'It doesn't feel like real life'

https://www.espn.com...-feel-real-life



#32 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 01 August 2021 - 09:49 AM

ESPN: Olympic gymnastics updates: MyKayla Skinner wins silver, Suni Lee earns bronze in event finals
https://www.espn.com...ze-event-finals



#33 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 02 August 2021 - 06:10 AM

Biles to compete on the balance beam.

#34 Mackus

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Posted 02 August 2021 - 07:35 AM

Sweet.  Hope she kicks ass.  When is that competition?

 

Seems like that event has the fewest amount of leaping and flipping and spinning, especially compared to things like vault or the floor routine.  



#35 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 02 August 2021 - 07:40 AM

Sweet.  Hope she kicks ass.  When is that competition?

 

Seems like that event has the fewest amount of leaping and flipping and spinning, especially compared to things like vault or the floor routine.  

 

4:50AM tomorrow. 

Yeah, another gymnast said that in an interview today... that it was the best event for someone dealing with the current issues Biles has.

Would be nice for her to end on a high note.



#36 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 03 August 2021 - 07:30 AM



#37 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 28 August 2023 - 10:28 AM



#38 Nigel Tufnel

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Posted 11 October 2023 - 01:33 PM

Mary Lou Retton might be desperately ill in the ICU without health insurance, or this may be some kind of cash grab by her daughter.  It's hard to tell.

 

Mary Lou Retton in ICU with rare form of pneumonia - The Washington Post






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