Stress, Anxiety and Mental Health in the Olympics Biles isn’t the only woman Women participating in the who is speaking out to proOlympic games in Tokyo, tect mental health during the Japan are currently demonstrating how much they value Olympics. their mental health as well as The Norwegian women’s their physical health. beach handball team last week was fined 1,500 euro Gymnastics superstar and (about $1,765) by the Eurodefending Olympic champion Simone Biles withdrew pean Handball Federation for wearing spandex shorts from her individual allinstead of bikini bottoms duraround competition at the Tokyo Games to focus on her ing the team’s bronze medal match at the European Beach mental well-being. The 24-year-old Biles came Handball Championships. to Tokyo as arguably the The Norwegian players face of the Games, following knew they would be flouting the retirement of swimmer International Handball FedMichael Phelps and sprinter eration guidelines, but chose Usain Bolt. to do the uniform change to Yet she posted on social protest against archaic rules media last Monday that she that prioritize hypersexualifelt the weight of the world zation over the comfort of on her shoulders. the athletes. The Norwegian Handball Biles is the most decorated Federation supported the U.S. women's gymnast ever with 31 World/Olympic medals. She posted on social media that she felt the weight of the world on her shoulder. That weight became too heavy after vaulting during team finals. She lost herself in midair and completed 1½ twists instead of 2½. She walked off the field after consulting with U.S. team doctor Marcia Faustin. 6
Herbal Collective August ’2021
players and agreed to pay the fines on their behalf. While they don’t say it, the female players were speaking out for their mental health over being viewed for their sexualisation in sport instead of their athletic prowess. The message to the world shows they won’t tolerate it anymore and want to be taken seriously for their sport. In sports, especially Olympic sports, the unspoken message is that men come to play, women are putting on a show in their uniforms that promote a deeply embedded sexism. Sexism and the pressure to perform has affected the mental health of athletes, both male and female. This can result in anxiety and cause an impact on a person’s physical health too.
