Experts claim that mental toughness is equally as important for Olympians as physical preparation.
When gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she brought attention to the significance of mental health.
After shocking everyone by pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics, gymnast Simone Biles is now opening up about her struggles with mental health in a new Netflix documentary series.
“I knew it would be a long journey, but to me it wasn’t done,” Biles stated in the series teaser. The trailer debuted on July 17, one week prior to her Olympic comeback in Paris in 2024.
According to Dylan Panuska, a clinical psychologist at Endeavor Health, “this return to the Olympic level is really an intersection of where mental health and this idea of mental fitness cross.”
According to Panuska, mental toughness is essential for Olympic athletes.
According to Panuska, “mental fitness is the capacity to apply coping mechanisms and maintain composure under pressure.”
Pro athletes train both mentally and physically, and Panuska offered four strategies for improving mental fitness that anyone can do, whether they’re practicing for a job interview or just enjoying a sport for enjoyment.
Setting your perspective is key to developing mental fitness and focused like an Olympian, according to Panuska.
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U.S. packed with star power heading into Olympics
With athletes like Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Diana Taurasi, and Katie Ledecky, a native of Bethesda, Team USA will send some of the biggest names to the 2024 Olympic Games.
And as the United States aims to top the overall medal table for the seventh consecutive Summer Games, the women will be leading the way.
There are 122 Olympic medalists and over 250 returning Olympians among the approximately 600 competitors competing in the Paris Games. Olympians Xander Schauffele, Nelly Korda, and Carissa Moore, among others, will be defending their championships in France, where they surf.
With ages ranging from 16 to 59, the U.S. roster is heavy with women, outnumbering men 314 to 278. Ledecky will be the most decorated member of Team USA in Paris as she attempts to increase her tally of 10 medals (seven golds).
After withdrawing from several gymnastics finals in Tokyo to safeguard her safety and emotional well-being, Biles is back in competition. Richardson is returning to the Olympics after a highly publicized three-year sabbatical due to a positive marijuana test.
Leading a group of well-known American gymnasts, Biles’ squad is searching for atonement in Paris. Three years ago, the team had to settle for silver behind the Russian competitors who were competing under the Russian Olympic Committee.
Richardson is now in the media
After being selected for the team, 24-year-old Richardson—who appears on the cover of Vogue magazine—said she was “overwhelmed with the emotions of just joy.”
LeBron James and Diana Taurasi, two basketball royalty, guide their teams on the field. It also comes as no surprise that the very talented men’s and women’s basketball teams are strong favorites to win gold.
James, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry team up to guide the American team as they aim for a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal. The women’s team led by A’ja Wilson, Brittney Griner, and Taurasi has won seven straight gold medals in the Olympics. Taurasi participated in five of them.
Renowned swimmers Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel are eager to do well in the water once more, along with huge wins
NBC has been showing Olympic-related content nonstop. Singer SZA is interviewing Biles there. Richardson, sprinter Noah Lyles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the world record holder in the 400-meter hurdles, Ledecky, and Suni Lee, the current Olympic all-around gymnastics champion, are among the other athletes highlighted in the spots.
Victor Montalvo, often known as “B-Boy Victor,” will be a competitor when breaking makes its Olympic debut in Paris as the U.S. women’s soccer team, under the direction of new coach Emma Hayes, attempts to win its first Olympic gold since 2012. On the clay courts at Roland Garros, home of the French Open, Coco Gauff is one of the favorites to win a medal.
Because of this star power, Nielsen’s Gracenote predicts that the United States will win 123 medals. That surpasses France (56), China (87), and Britain (62). The Americans may have topped the medal standings for the eighth time in a row at the Summer Games.
“When American athletes succeed, it boosts viewership and attracts sponsors to fund the Olympic movement,” Dr. Yoav Dubinsky, a sports business instructor at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business, stated. Every aspect of the American way of life is told. Their triumphs—and occasionally setbacks or misfortunes—contribute to the image of Brand America.
