Written by: Sarayu G.
Cover Design by: Aditi R.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics was not an ordinary Olympics, and while it may have been extended one more year due to the global pandemic, this wasn’t the only major change to the event. Mental Health has become a booming topic in society today, and mental health in sports has been one of the most amazing things to come out of the Olympics this year.
Before the Olympics even began, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka was fined $15,000 for not attending her post-match press conference in the French Open and threatened by other Grand Slams for penalties, even extending as high as a disqualification. She addressed her actions on Twitter, as she states “We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me”. She decided to put her mental health first, as she didn’t want her confidence levels to drop, especially due to the questions after her losses.
(From Naomi Osaka: 'It's O.K. Not to Be O.K.' | Time ) Naomi has coined the phrase It’s O.K Not to be O.K. and advocates for mental health.
Another Olympic athlete, Simone Biles, took action to put herself before anything else and stepped aside during the Team Gold Medal Match and even the All Around gymnastics competition. When she felt ready to be out there again, she swiftly picked up a bronze in the Women's Balance Beam, and she was so proud of her achievements and even stated that the bronze ment “more than all her golds”. In the Rio 2016 Olympics, Simone won 5 medals and became one of the leading women in the globe in artistic gymnastics, and the underlying pressure being one of the GOAT’s in a sport is nothing uncommon, but highly underrepresented in the sports world, and especially in the olympics.
Simone also reflected on how her actions brought to life how her and her fellow athlete colleagues’ mental health:
“At the end of the day we're not just entertainment. We're humans, too. We have things going on behind the scenes. ... I had to take a step back and focus on myself.”
Many athletes from across the globe have spoken out after Biles’s withdrawal, and while giving her their support and love, have also confessed that they have felt like they weren’t portrayed as humans: just someone people see on their tv screens. One of the nation’s greatest athletes, and someone who has also felt the burden of the US on their shoulders is Michael Phelps. Phelps has been very outspoken about his depression struggles during his time as an athlete and the high expectations the world had for him. Recently he has also released a documentary ,highlighting these struggles and an overall perspective on his career, called The Weight of the Gold. Olympians work so hard for 4 years, putting in so much time and effort, and the added pressure they have as symbols of a country and their hopes and dreams is not an easy feat, whether they’ve won numerous medals or are first-time olympians.
The global pandemic we have faced as a united force has impacted us in many ways, but a topic that has had a positive impact on our health has been the open nature of talking about people’s mental wellbeing, and exceptional athletes competing across the globe are no exception to this.
And to the world, it is ok to not feel like yourself, and there are many ways to get help. You are never alone and there will be someone there to listen to you and support you.
Please check out this link and use these resources to help you or others, especially in the difficult times we are in right now:
Sources: