US gold medalist wrestler says Simone Biles needs to ‘check herself’

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Simone Biles needs to ‘check herself,’ according to a former US Olympic gold medalist who believes she made a mistake when she withdrew from all but one event in Tokyo, citing mental health struggles.  

‘If you start to think that you’re the GOAT or the greatest of all time . . . then you’re gonna have to live it man,’ said Henry Cejudo, who took home the gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Beijing Games. 

He made the comments in a video posted to Twitter last Thursday with the caption: ‘My take on Simone Biles pulling out of the Olympics.’

‘I think there’s time for a little bit of tough love,’ the 34-year old said. ‘If she was my sister this is exactly what I would do. I would never say something that I wouldn’t say to my family, or even to me, because I believe that sometimes we need a little kick in the arse. We really do, man.

‘What we need is for someone to tell us and check us that it’s every four years, in this situation five years, in order for you to go down as one of the greatest athletes of all time.’ 

Cejudo decried the notion that the media creates athletes like Biles and said, ‘They only give you a platform and the limelight. It’s up to you to believe it and to accept it.’ 

If you start to think that you’re the GOAT or the greatest of all time . . . then you’re gonna have to live it man.’

Cejudo was 21 when he earned gold and became the youngest American to win in the event. He also won 16 of 18 UFC bouts before retiring following a win against Dominick Cruz on May 9, 2020. 

He told Bleacher Report at the time that he retired because he felt his legacy was set and he would only continue competing if he was paid more. 

Cejudo spoke of the pressure that Biles faced entering the Olympics as one of the most noteworthy faces of the Games following her four-medal win in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

‘There’s two things that pressure could do,’ he said. ‘Pressure could either bust pipes or it could create and make diamonds. You choose what to do with it, remember that. There’s a reason why you’re an Olympic champion. You’re going against you and I hope you could come back from that.’   

Last week, Biles dropped out of the team competition, all-around final and three individual finals due to mental health struggles, she said. However, she will make one last bid for Olympic glory in Tuesday evening’s balance beam final.  

USA Gymnastics confirmed that the 24-year-old will join all-around champion Sunisa Lee, 18, in the balance beam competition, posting the news on Twitter just minutes before Biles watched her teammate Jade Carey take gold in the floor exercise final. 

‘We are so excited to confirm that you will see two US athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow,’ the statement read.

‘Suni Lee AND Simone Biles!! Can’t wait to watch you both!’

The news suggests that Biles has managed to work through the mental health struggles which prompted her to pull out of the finals for the vault, floor exercise, and uneven bars – all of which she was expected to medal in. 

Instead, Biles has taken on the role of cheerleader and spectator throughout each of the finals, including the floor exercise event on Monday, during which she was seen clapping and yelling while Carey, 21, competed in the Ariake Gymnastics Center.    

After Jade performed her floor routine, Simone removed her face mask, screamed loudly and warmly applauded the athlete – whom she was supposed to have been competing against. 

At the Rio Olympics, Biles had to settle for a bronze medal on the balance beam, having made a major error during her routine, which had been expected to win her the gold. 

Her decision to take part in the same final in Tokyo will give her the chance to get a second shot at the gold, as well as giving gymnastics fans one last chance to see the GOAT compete.  

Tuesday’s attempt at gold will be Biles’ last appearance at the Olympics – during which gymnast has endured a troubling struggle with poor mental health, leading her to drop out of four competitions, including the team and all-around finals.  

The news marked the beginning of a very positive day for Team USA’s gymnasts, which was made all the more sweet by Carey’s victory on the floor. 

Following her gold medal win, the newly-crowned floor exercise champion took the time to celebrate her teammate’s return to competition, telling DailyMail.com: ‘I’m really proud of her for coming back.

‘She has been through a lot. So I’m really happy and proud that she is coming back tomorrow on the beam.’

It remains to be seen whether Biles will manage to surge ahead to medal glory in the balance beam final, which she qualified for in a disappointing seventh place – while her teammate Suni Lee finished in third place in the preliminary competition behind Guan Chenchen and Tang Xijing. 

However, the gymnast has been putting in plenty of training time ahead of Tuesday’s final, working on several new skills that will allow her to complete a routine without worrying about her struggle with the ‘twisties’ – a mental phenomenon that causes gymnasts to feel like they are ‘lost in the air’ and can result in devastating injury.  

Biles has stressed that being he oldest member of the US women’s team has added to her anxieties and is one of the reasons ‘the demons’ have affected her in Tokyo.

Simone, one of the greatest all time Olympic gymnasts, will be 27 when the next games are staged in Paris in 2024 and has indicated that she plans to retire from elite competition long before then.  

She said she had lost confidence and worried about competing and was suffering the ‘twisties’ which hamper the ability to maintain any awareness in the air, and can therefore result in serious injury. 

Speaking about Biles’ decision to compete, her teammate MyKayla Skinner explained that she has managed to re-work her beam routine in order to eliminate skills that require a twist, including her signature dismount. 

‘[On] beam you’re not really doing much twisting things, it’s just skills,’ the 24-year-old told the Today show. ‘She’s been able to work a double pike and try different things… so no twisties for her!’ 

USA Gymnastics said on Sunday that Biles had withdrawn from Monday’s floor exercise final, which was one of the four golds that she had won in Rio in 2016, and would make a decision about her last scheduled final on the beam later this week.

Biles had been expected to improve on her Rio Games gold haul after qualifying for all five individual finals in Tokyo but pulled out of the all-around, vault, asymmetric bars and floor exercise medal events in order to protect her mental health.

She shocked the world when she withdrew from the team final last week after a single vault, citing mental health issues.

Asked how Biles was doing on Sunday, teammate Skinner told reporters she was ‘handling it better than I thought’.

‘Every day she’s been laughing and giggling, super supportive, and I’m sure when she gets home it’ll probably hit her more. Right now, she’s around all of us,’ she said.

‘She’s still probably going to be competing, so I’m sure she’s trying to stay in the game, but honestly she’s been the happiest person and I’m so grateful to see after everything she’s been through that she’s making the best of it.’ 

Since cutting short her participation in the team final, the 19-time world champion said she is suffering from ‘twisties’ – a mental block that is preventing her from safely performing the high-risk skills required to compete.

Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, did a question-and-answer session for her followers on Friday, during which she laid bare her current below-standard ability by posting a video of a training calamity in Tokyo. 

In her Instagram video, Simone is seen going through her routine on the uneven bars during training – however when she performs her dismount, which requires her to twist her body around in the air, she failed to land on her feet and instead crashed to the mat, falling flat on her back. 

Biles’ usual dismount – a double twisting somersault – requires her to complete two twists in the air before landing on her feet, facing away from the bars. 

However, in one of the videos that she posted, the gymnast only managed to complete half of a twist, before plummeting to the mat and landing flat on her back.  

A second clip showed her completing one-and-a-half twists, before making the same crash landing. 

Such a fault which would cost her heavily in points in Olympic competition if she were to resume her dreams of adding to the four golds and one silver she secured in Rio five years ago.

The twisties can also result in serious injury, leaving gymnasts unable to spot their landing correctly and therefore leaving them at risk of a dangerous fall.  

Speaking about the struggle with the issue in the caption of her videos, Biles hit out at those who have criticized her decision to withdraw from both the team and all-around finals, insisting that she did not ‘quit’, while noting that mental health is just as serious as physical health.

‘For anyone saying I quit. I didn’t quit, my mind and body are simply not in sync,’ she wrote. 

‘As you can see [in the video]. I don’t think you realize how hard this is on hard/competition surface. 

‘Nor do I have to explain why I put health first. Physical health is mental health.’ 

Since Biles has highlighted her struggles with mental health, a number of other athletes have taken action to safeguard theirs, with England cricketer Ben Stokes, 30, announcing he will be taking an ‘indefinite break’ from both international and domestic matches to ‘prioritise his mental wellbeing’.

British swimming sensation Adam Peaty, who has won two gold medals and one silver in Tokyo, also revealed he will take a short break from the sport after the Olympics to protect his mental health – as he referenced the struggles of Biles.

‘It’s been hard for everyone, for every sport out there,’ Peaty said. ‘It’s been very, very tiring, but I think I’m going to celebrate and have what my coach Mel calls a forced rest, where we’re not allowed to touch the water for a month.

‘It is going to be a war of attrition over the next three years. We’ve got three major championships next season.

‘You’ll see people who are falling off, who go all the way through ISL and all the way through World Cups and by the time they get to Paris.

‘You’re seeing it in all sports now. You’re seeing it with Simone Biles, you’re seeing it with Ben Stokes, mental health matters and it is about getting the balance right at that elite level.

‘The amount of time that has been taken away from me with my partner and my boy – he doesn’t know it – but I want to make that time up. I’m going to enjoy it and recover.’ 

Biles has received glowing praise for her ‘bravery’ and ‘courage’ to put her mental health before competing, with a number of Olympic champions past and present sending her messages of support over the past weeks. 

International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach admitted Biles’ bravery to confront her mental health problems in front of the world is ‘admirable’.

He said: ‘I can only say, you know, we are with her. I must personally say I had the opportunity to at least briefly talk with her after the team competition.

‘I’m really admiring how she’s handling the situation. She admits to having this problem. This is already courageous. Who one year ago would have admitted to say (they) have mental health problems?

‘And at the same time then cheering on (her) teammates. And then being there, and supporting when her successor is in the all-around final? This is, you know, great human quality and this is Olympic spirit at its best.’

Britain’s newly-crowned double Olympic champion on the Pommel Horse Max Whitlock said in a message to Biles: ‘You’ve pushed boundaries time and time again. Rest up and take time.’

US swimming legend Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals, talked about the need for mental health resources for Olympic athletes after Biles withdrew from a number of events, having revealed back in 2018 he suffered with depression himself and contemplated suicide after the 2012 London Games. 

Speaking to The Athletic he said: ‘I hope this is an opportunity for us to jump on board and to even blow this mental health thing even more wide open.

‘We carry a lot of weight on our shoulders, and it’s challenging especially when we have the lights on us and all of these expectations being thrown on top of us.

‘We’re human beings. Nobody is perfect. It’s OK to not be OK. It’s OK to go through ups and down and emotional rollercoasters. The biggest thing is, we all need to ask for help when we go through those times. It was hard for me to ask for help.

‘I felt like I was carrying, like Simone said, the weight of the world on my shoulders. It’s a tough situation. I hope this is an eye-opening experience.’  

Michelle Obama, tennis icon Billie Jean King, Coco Gauff and former football star Landon Donovan also sent messages of support to their compatriot among a number of other big names and celebrities.

Biles‘ NFL star boyfriend Jonathan Owens spoke out last week to praise the gymnast’s ‘strength and courage’ amid her ongoing battle with ‘petrifying’ mental issues.

‘Imma ride with you through whatever baby,’ he wrote, while sharing a slideshow of images of himself and Biles. ‘Your strength and courage is unmatched and you inspire me more and more everyday SB.’ 

He added that Biles, who chose not to defend her Olympic all-around title in order to ‘focus on her mental health’, having dropped out of the team final after one event for the same reason, will ‘always be his champ’.