Simone Biles entered the 2020 Olympic Games with a record 25 World Championship medals and four moves so difficult that she alone out of all the world’s gymnasts could perform them.
But what took place on the competition floor made history in a way no one could have expected. On the first event of the games, which were held in July 2021, the athlete, who has an unparalleled ability to flip and twist, suddenly could no longer find herself in the air. Simone had “the twisties” — a complete loss of ability to perceive her body in space. The condition is known to lead to devastating injuries, as it nearly did for her that day. When she returned to the competition floor, it was to put on her warm-ups, give her team a pep talk and withdraw from competition.
I’ve witnessed many incredible moments in athletics, but as I watched from home that day, I knew I was watching a victory that redefined the others: Simone’s decision to value her own safety, on her own terms, above the voracious demands of an abusive and toxic athletic system. It was a moment so many of us had fought for, for so long.
I’m not just a fan. I’m a former competitive gymnast myself (though let’s be clear — Simone and I occupy entirely different stratospheres). In 2016 I became a whistle-blower, telling the story of how Larry Nassar, the former doctor for U.S.A. Gymnastics, sexually assaulted me. By the time he was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison, over 200 gymnasts had spoken up, and Simone was one of them. But we all knew that Mr. Nassar was a symptom of a much deeper problem — a broken and abusive system that valued money and medals over the health and safety of its athletes.
Simone defied this system with both words and actions. Her choice to value her safety and well-being spoke the truth that human worth is not a prize we might someday earn. Rather, it is intrinsic to our very being.
After two years of focusing on her own health, two years of whispered questions about her choice, Simone has returned to the competition floor. She punctuated that return with an exclamation point, winning her first meet by a full five points.
Her triumph is so much more than the competitions she is once again winning, because it is laid on the foundation of the courageous choice she made in 2021. That, even more than her peerless athletic prowess, is what is inspiring her fans. And that’s what makes her victory resonate far beyond the sport, beyond any sport.
Professional athletes aren’t the only ones who face overwhelming pressure to perform on someone else’s terms — to work past the point of what’s healthy, to define ourselves by what we achieve instead of who we truly are. That pressure is so common that it can be hard to remember there’s any other possibility. But it doesn’t have to be this way. As high-profile athletes from around the world have begun to speak up about what they endured in their quests for triumph — abuse in every form, anxiety, depression and a loss of their own identity — some have gone so far as to say that, if given a choice, they would relinquish their victories for simple health and wholeness.
Athletes have always inspired us to push ourselves to the limits and seek victory. Now their example should also inspire us to go beyond a simplistic understanding of victory to know that we are more than our accomplishments. That sometimes, the greatest triumph is the ability to know what is true, and then be strong enough to hold on to that truth.
This is what has allowed Simone to prioritize her own safety and health, giving her body and mind time to heal, freeing her to compete for the joy and beauty of it. In doing so, she proves that athletic triumph is not only possible, it’s also far greater, richer and more meaningful when it is accomplished on one’s own terms.
In my testimony during Mr. Nassar’s sentencing, I asked the court to consider how much a little girl is worth. It’s a question we all need to consider. Little girls are worth more than their value to their sport. We owe it to young athletes to protect them, not exploit them. But it took Simone Biles to put that ideal into action, not just for little girls, but for grown women, too.
Last weekend, Simone won a record-setting eighth all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championship. As she has broken record after record with her otherworldly athletic skill, she has broken down unhealthy expectations and toxic cultures for all who come after her. And it is all of this together that has made her — as the sequined goat on her leotard occasionally reminds us — the greatest of all time.
Rachael Denhollander is a lawyer and an educator and the author of “What Is a Girl Worth? My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth About Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics.”
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