No gymnastics at the Olympics: Simone Biles' maturity

Simone Biles will also forego the device finals on jump and parallel bars on Sunday.

The United States Gymnastics Federation announced the decision today.

Biles made the only right decision.

The only correct one, at least if there is agreement that the physical integrity of the athlete is more important than gold medals.

The reason for their withdrawal: "Twisties", from twist, that is, rotations around the longitudinal axis of the body.

If you have "twisties", you suddenly no longer succeed in these turns, the head wants to screw, but the body refuses.

This happened in the team final, when Biles lost control in the air and then abandoned the competition.

This also happened in training on Friday when the bars went down.

Your body gets lost in the air.

Biles has around two dozen longitudinal axis rotations in their program.

The risk of breaking your neck with a mental block like this is real.

The comments from gymnasts around the world are accordingly of rare unanimity: They praise the “right decision” and their courage in making it;

many report similar experiences.

Four gold medals - the least

Little is known about the cause of “twisties”. What can be considered safe is that extreme stressful situations can trigger mental blocks. "Olympics is no joke!", "The Olympic Games are no fun", she can feel the weight of the whole world on her shoulders, Biles had written before the team final. For about a year and a half she has been described as

superstar of these Olympic Games; four gold medals - the least.

It is also known in what kind of system Biles grew up as a gymnast. In the Károlyi system, which is so successful when it comes to victories, arguments and fear were simply not allowed. In this system, team doctor Larry Nassar was able to sexually abuse girls, including Simone Biles, for almost two decades. “Finding your own voice” is the central motto of the #gymnastAlliance movement, which - triggered by the US debate - has brought inhuman training methods to light all over the world.

For her statements - such as "physical health is mental health" - Biles is now getting applause from all sides. USA Gymnastics praises their decision, rights holder NBC has the greatest understanding and the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, praises them for their "Olympic spirit". There is a danger lurking here. Because it is about the containment and thus also the capture of Biles' voice.

She has millions of followers on social media who are almost united behind her. Nobody wants to mess with that. The above-mentioned institutions have a different primary interest: sports stars who deliver top performance and smilingly hold their gold in the camera, in short: drive up the sums for advertising and television rights. The motivation to above all want to earn money is legitimate for the TV broadcaster NBC, but by no means for USA Gymnastics and the IOC. To give Biles the respect they deserve is one thing, to recapture them, something else.

Just look in detail at the reactions to female athletes who recently found their voice instead of just delivering: rainbow-colored captain's armbands or kneeling down as a sign of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement? You have to discuss that first. Longer pants in beach handball? No way, that gives a fine. German gymnasts in long pants? Well, a sign against sexualization.

Behind the reactions, all of which stem from patriarchal structures, there is not least calculation or opportunism. A crystal clear attitude to all these actions would be basically very simple and the term for it does not have to be invented first: the responsible athlete; and also: the mature black athlete. In these days, Simone Biles has proven maturity as the autonomy to act according to self-imposed standards. Thank her for that.