"It's harder being a female athlete"- When Simone Biles opened up about dealing with expectations amid hardships as a gymnast

Simone Biles once opened up about how female athletes face more struggles, recommending that people educate themselves about what goes on behind the scenes before criticizing them. Biles was the frontrunner of the US women's gymnastics team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but a mid-air body-mind dissonance ended her dreams.

With her gold-winning performances at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Biles set an American record for the most gold medals won in women's gymnastics at a single Games. She soon became the face of the sport, and by her next Olympic appearance in 2020, she amassed 19 World and five Olympic gold medals.

In Tokyo, she headlined the team and was the heavy favorite for the most wins in the Japanese capital. She withdrew from the team and all-around finals, citing mental health issues, and later revealed that the expectations weighed her down.

In an interview later, the now 28-year-old highlighted that female athletes face more hardship and are always at the mouth of criticism when something goes wrong. Suggesting that people be more considerate, she had said:

“It’s hard, but it’s harder being a female athlete because everybody prays for your downfall and wants you to mess up. What we do isn’t easy, or else everybody could do it. But also at the end of the day, we’re not just athletes or entertainment – we’re human, too, and we have emotions and things that we’re working through behind the scenes that we don’t tell you guys about. I just think it’s something that people should be more aware of.”

In Tokyo, Simone Biles only competed in the balance beam, winning bronze in the event. In her absence, the women's gymnastics squad won the silver medal.

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Simone Biles once took pride in her decision to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020

Simone Biles at the Today Show Gallery of Olympians - (Source: Getty)

Simone Biles followed the path of the swimming great Michael Phelps and tennis icon Naomi Osaka by addressing her mental health issues, which most athletes fail to do. Once in an interview with Good Housekeeping, she had shared how proud she was to be able to show such strength for withdrawing from the Olympics after facing the twisties.

“I learned how courageous and how strong I was. It truly takes some strength to acknowledge that it's okay to not be okay, and to take a step back to protect your mental and wellbeing. That's what I did. I knew it was the right decision. Obviously, I was really sad because I had [trained for five years] for that Olympic hopes and dreams. It really showed me the strength that I had within myself, and that I needed to do what my body and mind was telling me," she had said.

Simone Biles was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Joe Biden in 2022. After her Paris Games exploits, which saw her win three gold medals and a silver medal, she won her fourth Laureus Sports award.