2020 Olympics .....................................................38

place on the podium. Also, MyKayla Skinner had a chance to redeem herself on the vault winning a silver medal! These women are trained athletes and they knew they had a job to perform and they did their best and they did it together. They picked up their fallen “commrad” and supported her and in the events that eventually led to her return.

Simone Biles remained poised and professional as she genuinely appeared happy sitting alongside her teammates during the competition. As the world has seemed to thrive on negative news there was criticism of Simone withdrawing from the competition. However, it was later reported that Simone had received word that a family member (Aunt) had died unexpectedly. For those of you who have not read up on Simone’s bio, she has endured a life filled with traumatic experiences to which she has worked hard to heal. So take a moment and imagine being away from home in another country as a high level competitor in the Olympic games, during a pandemic and receiving news of the loss of a family member. I would think that would be a definite trigger that could compromise one’s mental state. If we have learned anything from Simone it was the incredible bravery she displayed in knowing she was not in the right mindset to complete and needed to step back and take care of herself. Simone was not only thinking of herself but also concerned for her teammates. I am sure this was not an easy decision.

Simone Biles displayed incredible strength in her ability to demonstrate self awareness of her mental health needs at a crucial moment in her life, and with the support of her team was able to finish what she started in Tokyo. This feature is dedicated “for all the girls”, never stop chasing your dreams, remember being a part of a team you will never stand alone and never be afraid to know when to put your mental health first!

References: Goldsmith, Annie (2021). Town & Country. Meet All the Women on the US Olympic Gymnastics Team. https://www.sportingnews.com. Suni Lee Takes Her Place Along Team USA’s all-time greats with Olympics. Retrieved on August 4, 2021 https://www.forbes.com. Tokyo Olympics: US Women’s Gymnastics Team Win Silver After Simone Biles Pulls Out. (Alison Durkee) Retrieved on August 4, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com. US Women win Olympics gymnastics silver after Biles “medical issue.” Retrieved on August 4, 2021.

Rita King, LCSW is a mental health clinician providing psychotherapy services to adults and children. Rita has worked with individuals with mental illness in the community mental health setting, criminal justice system and private practice setting. Rita is a “De-escalation for Individuals with Special Needs” training facilitator and has trained approximately 1,200 law enforcement professionals to date. Rita is also a CIT trained mental health professional. Rita has a strong passion for women’s history and in her free time she continues to raise awareness of the importance of women’s history through lectures and community speaking engagements.