The Paris Olympics is poised to deliver sporting excellence in abundance; blink and you will miss something extraordinary on the biggest stage in sport.
While records will tumble and pages in sport's history books will be frantically rewritten across two action-packed weeks, those individuals who rise to seize the spotlight, forging memories for generations, will mostly do so by pairing their athletic prowess with a human story. This is why there is such a feverish anticipation for Simone Biles and her Olympic return.
Widely recognised as the greatest gymnast of all time, having amassed 37 medals across Olympic Games and world championships, Biles is ready to dominate again. Yet this journey to Paris, including a 732-day layoff, has made the 27year-old an inspiration beyond the arena.
The intrigue surrounding Biles’s return on Sunday at the Bercy Arena for the team event qualification has much to do with the ghosts of Tokyo. She succumbed to “the twisties”, the condition which leaves gymnasts suffering from a mental block and a dangerous loss of spatial awareness while performing.
“A big old spill,” as Biles recently described it, occurred three years ago, with the American unable to contain her trauma any more. Biles had become a leader in the years prior, forcing USA Gymnastics to change in 2018 after speaking out as a survivor of sexual abuse by Larry Nassar, the former USA team doctor. Her voice would lead to the closure of Karolyi Ranch, the training centre where many gymnasts were abused, while Mary Bono would later resign as USA Gymnastics president.
Diagnosed with depression and anxiety, Biles has become more relatable and maintains “nothing can break me” ahead of the Paris Games.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin July 26, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin July 26, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Carse justifies England faith as the archetypal bold pick
If you won a boxing match after your opponent continually punched themselves in the face, how much credit can you take?
Tenacious Diallo the key to Amorim pressing machine
Old Trafford has not seen anything like this before.
Gold King Cole packs the Bridge with merry old souls
In the 83rd minute, the ball rolled to the feet of Cole Palmer in a bubble of space outside Aston Villa's box, and the crowd snapped to attention.
Vibrant Anfield marks the changing of the Guardiola
There was a lull in the noise, a break in the Anfield atmosphere, when a defiant chant emerged from a corner near Stefan Ortega’s goal.
What is so daunting about Spain's new data checks?
Q You have written about the new “red tape” for visitors to Spain. So, as well as your usual passport details you will give a contact number, address and email. Not exactly the Spanish Inquisition, is it?
Sectarian clashes claim at least 130 lives in Pakistan
At least 130 people were killed in deadly sectarian clashes in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram district in spite of a tentative ceasefire, days after gunmen opened fire on a convoy of vehicles carrying Shia Muslims, local officials said.
Coalition government likely in Ireland as count proceeds
Fianna Fail say decisions on power-sharing for another day’
How Syria's forgotten war is back on the world's agenda
Many believed the country was lost in an unsolvable conflict, until everything changed in a matter of days, writes Bel Trew
Assad regime scrambles to halt Syrian rebels’ advance
Civilians reportedly killed by Russian and Syrian airstrikes
Mother of poisoning victim says she knew she would die
Lawyer Simone White succumbed to the effects of methanol while backpacking in Laos with two of her childhood friends
