One of the most talked-about incidents of the Tokyo Olympics so far has been Simone Biles' decision to withdraw from the women's team gymnastics final. Biles
pulled out of the women's gymnastics team final due to concerns over her mental health, which she feared could result in a significant injury.
Her decision contrasts with that made by Kerri Strug in the same event 25 years ago, at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
That event took place on July 23 of that year, with the women's gymnastics teams of the United States and
Russia facing off to secure Olympic gold.
Strug was the final member of her team to vault in the final rotation, but she landed awkwardly and injured her left ankle. When her turn arrived for her second vault, she was hardly able to walk and turned to her coach
Bela Karolyi.
"Do we need this?" Strug asked her coach.
"Kerri , we need you to go one more time," Karolyi
replied.
"We need you one more time for the gold. You can do it, you better do it."
She landed the vault in miraculous fashion, before turning and saluting the judges and hobbling off the landing platform as she secured the gold medal for her team.
Although her injury meant that she was unable to compete for the rest of the games, she had become a national hero, with her persistence in the face of injury becoming one of the enduring images of that competition.
Now, 25 years later, Biles' decision to withdraw from the event left her teammates disappointed yet fully understanding, in spite of it meaning that they lost out on the gold medal.
She has faced little backlash as her sport and society in general have changed significantly since 1996.



https://www.marca.com/en/olympic-games/2021/07/29/6102e4ba22601d5b518b456d.html