First it was Naomi Osaka, now weeks later a tearful Simone Biles. Two of the biggest names in sport have publicly revealed that they are struggling with their mental health — and they could be the catalyst for wider change.
The superstar American gymnast Biles on Tuesday stunned the Tokyo Olympics when she pulled out of the women’s team final, saying: “I have to do what’s right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardise my health and my wellbeing.”
The 24-year-old had already hinted that she was feeling the immense pressure in the Japanese capital, writing on Instagram: “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times.”
Her participation in the rest of the Olympics is now uncertain.
Within hours there was an outpouring of sympathy on social media for Biles, who is already a four-time olympic gold medallist, that went beyond sport.
Writing on Twitter, Henrietta H. Fore, executive director of UNICEF, thanked Biles “for being a role model and showing the world it’s okay to prioritise your mental health”.
Also on Tuesday, Osaka — who lit the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony — suffered a shock early exit in the tennis.
As a home hope and one of the faces of the Games, the 23-year-old said that there was “a lot of pressure”.
The Japanese had only just returned after two months away from the game after revealing that she had been suffering depression.
Biles and Osaka, who are aged just seven months apart, are by no means the only young athletes to suffer in the public eye.
At Wimbledon earlier this month, 18-year-old Briton Emma Raducanu came out of nowhere to reach the fourth round, only to retire from the match with what was first described as “breathing difficulties”.
The teenager subsequently explained that “whole experience caught up with me”.
It is not just young women. After Raducanu’s explanation, England and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford said that he too had suffered something similar when he was a teenager.
In 2018, NBA star Kevin Love said that he had suffered a panic attack during a match, while Olympic swimming great Michael Phelps and England cricketer Marcus Trescothick have also openly documented their mental struggles.
