[teejers1]

I get that Simone embraced the build-up of her greatness in the media, but what do you expect of a young girl that has had that kind of success?  Her post Olympic earning potential depends a lot upon her exposure in the media.  

Maybe this will be a lesson for future gymnastics stars to go easy on the PR, but I doubt it will change anything. 

It might turn out better for Simone than if she had fulfilled expectations.  She is being portrayed as a hero for putting "mental health" ahead of winning gold.  Now that her teammate won the all-around gold, there is less noise in social media that she let her country down.

Let's hope she comes out of this episode in her life with happiness and success.   She has certainly earned it.

Biles will be fine - on and off the mat.  Off it, you already noted the hero portrayal.  On the mat, even at 80% effectiveness, she is still the best gymnast in the world.  (And I suspect that is what JoeOlympicsWatcher thought when complaining about her refusal to even try - if she even performed at 80%, the team wins gold).

What this reinforces from here:  the mental aspect of any competitive sports endeavor is often just as important as the physical side of things.  Biles didn't have it this Olympics; and unlike golf - where "not being right" might result in mistakes in shot-making or decision-making - that is dangerous to the competitor.  So she sat it out. Makes sense, even if it sucks for her and the team.

P.S.  Wonder if a race car driver ever sat one out because the head wasn't right?  Wouldn't blame him/her - and neither would their competitors I suspect.  Talk about life-threatening.

[teejers1]

I get that Simone embraced the build-up of her greatness in the media, but what do you expect of a young girl that has had that kind of success?  Her post Olympic earning potential depends a lot upon her exposure in the media.  

Maybe this will be a lesson for future gymnastics stars to go easy on the PR, but I doubt it will change anything. 

It might turn out better for Simone than if she had fulfilled expectations.  She is being portrayed as a hero for putting "mental health" ahead of winning gold.  Now that her teammate won the all-around gold, there is less noise in social media that she let her country down.

Let's hope she comes out of this episode in her life with happiness and success.   She has certainly earned it.

Biles will be fine - on and off the mat.  Off it, you already noted the hero portrayal.  On the mat, even at 80% effectiveness, she is still the best gymnast in the world.  (And I suspect that is what JoeOlympicsWatcher thought when complaining about her refusal to even try - if she even performed at 80%, the team wins gold).

What this reinforces from here:  the mental aspect of any competitive sports endeavor is often just as important as the physical side of things.  Biles didn't have it this Olympics; and unlike golf - where "not being right" might result in mistakes in shot-making or decision-making - that is dangerous to the competitor.  So she sat it out. Makes sense, even if it sucks for her and the team.

P.S.  Wonder if a race car driver ever sat one out because the head wasn't right?  Wouldn't blame him/her - and neither would their competitors I suspect.  Talk about life-threatening.