By Michael Boriero
The conversation around mental health was reignited this week, after one of the most highly decorated athletes in the world, U.S.A. gymnast Simone Biles, stepped down from the women’s all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics to focus on her well-being.
It was a stunning decision, and it has since sparked a deeper discussion about the immense weight and pressure athletes experience at all levels. Biles became one of several professional athletes to recently open up about their struggles with mental health.
“It used to not really come out as much because I think this idea of mental toughness has been around too long, and so athletes usually don’t talk about what they’re living,” said Elizabeth Migneron, a Mental Performance Consultant at Excellence Sportive Sherbrooke.
