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US swimmer Katie Ledecky bagged two gold medals and two silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics last year. She created history after becoming the first winner in the debuting women's 1500m freestyle, an event she already holds a world record in.
In August last year, Katie Ledecky lauded another history maker for showcasing her "bravery" at the Tokyo Olympics.
US gymnast Simone Biles is pretty much the poster girl for American gymnastics. Her feat of four gold medals and one bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics cemented her name as one of the best gymnasts in the world.
However, the world was shocked when she withdrew from the team event, vault and uneven bars finals, and the individual all-round event at the Tokyo Olympics owing to mental health reasons.
Although Biles was the only gymnast to qualify for all four individual finals, she suffered several mishaps in the qualification rounds. During the warm-ups and actual competition of the team event, she balked at her Amanar vault mid-air.
Biles explained that she withdrew mainly due to experiencing 'twisties', a psychological phenomenon causing a gymnast to lose air awareness while performing twisting elements, throughout the Tokyo Olympics.
Due to this, not only the team medal but also Biles' safety would be at risk if she continued competing in that state of mind. She later competed in the beam final, winning a bronze medal.
Many athletes and celebrities then came forward appreciating and supporting Simone Biles' decision to prioritize her mental health.
Katie Ledecky's reaction to Biles' move
Legendary swimmer Katie Ledecky also shared similar sentiments during an interview with Us Weekly.
She said:
"It's actions like like hers that hopefully help shape our society's conversation around around health, mental health."
The mental health of an athlete, became a point of conversation last year. Katie Ledecky hoped this news would further remind everyone that mental health is a pivotal factor of health.
She continued:
"She’s such an amazing athlete. She’s really shown a lot of bravery over the last week. (She) reminded everyone that mental health is a key part of health."
Sports in itself is a very risky field to take part in, and gymnastics is one of the most difficult events to perform in. The risk of executing death-defying flips and tricks is multi-fold.
In such a scenario, Biles' decision to withdraw when she didn't feel right was the bravest and most sound decision taken by an athlete, especially at the grand scale of the Olympics.
Katie Ledecky reiterated these thoughts, saying:
"I’m glad that she put her safety and her health first. Even if it wasn’t easy."
Even though a person's mental and physical health is closely connected, the former is brazenly dismissed by many. Katie Ledecky hoped that Biles' decision would start a discussion on the subject in society and also appreciated her for coming back and winning a bronze despite all the odds.
She stated:
"It’s actions like hers that hopefully help shape our society’s conversation around health, mental health, physical health. The two, they’re very connected. I was really glad that she was able to show that courage and come back and earn bronze on the [balance] beam for herself. And really show the person that she is."
"I can’t wait to give her a hug and congratulate her and just tell her how proud we all are of her," - Katie Ledecky on Simone Biles
World-class athletes are always seen as heroes and superstars and people very often forget to realize that they are normal human beings too.
This was seen when US gymnast Simone Biles decided to withdraw from several events at the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health reasons. While many athletes and celebrities, including Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, Nastia Liukin, Michael Phelps, Taylor Swift, Tom Felton, Justin Bieber, and Reese Witherspoon amongst others, appreciated her starting a conversation about mental health in sports.
However, many accused her of quitting and selfishly taking another athlete's chance of competing. Beyond that, she was mercilessly bashed and slandered for her decision.
US swimmer Katie Ledecky also came to her support, saying that athletes are human too. She mentioned:
"The world may try to see us as superhuman, athletes are humans too."
Katie Ledecky, who has known Biles since 2013 sent her a "quick message of support" after hearing about her withdrawal. She continued:
"[I sent] just a quick message of support and I didn’t expect a message back," she said. "I hope that we’ll be able to connect over the next several months. And I’m sure we’ll see each other at some team USA event."
She added that she "couldn't wait" to give Biles a hug and tell her how proud she is of her. She said:
"I can’t wait to give her a hug and congratulate her and just tell her how proud we all are of her."
Well, there’s nothing better than when athletes support athletes.
