Everybody Get Off Simone Biles

I don't pay much attention to the Olympics, but I sort of like some stuff. One thing I sort of watch sometimes is women's gymnastics--which I find pretty damn amazing--way more amazing than men's, in case you care about such comparisons. After Biles bowed out, I immediately saw some people (esp. on conservative sites) giving her grief. My pretty-much-immediate thought was: WTH? It's hard to believe that anyone can do that stuff anyway. That stuff is literally impossible from my personal athletic frame of reference. And there's no way anybody could convince me that it isn't dangerous as all hell. If she has doubts at all, bowing out is more than merely permissible. What do you want her to do? End up a quadriplegic?

   Anyway, I was glad to see people making that point.

   Turns out there is--entirely unsurprisingly--a general phenomenon that athletes call "the twisties" Cute name for what must be the utterly terrifying loss of the concentration / proprioception that makes it possible to do that impossible stuff. Other athletes are weighing in on this--and that, of course, constitutes expert opinion. 

   Case closed, IMO. Get off her back.

   In fact, she deserves credit for having the good sense to bow out. What? Do these critics think she's not committed? Really? How many less-than-maniacally-committed Olympic athletes are there? Ya think Biles just doesn't care? When she was predicted to win six (gold?) medals? What clearly happened was that her fear + good sense were strong enough to outweigh what is undoubtedly her burning, superhuman desire to win/succeed. 

   I guess it's possible that she should have realized this sooner or somesuch. But it seems pretty clear to me that people should get off her back and give her some support.