- Title: Simone is 'the best' - NY gymnasts stand by Biles
- Date: 29th July 2021
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JULY 28, 2021) (REUTERS) WIDE OF FLOOR AT GOTHAM GYMNASTICS VARIOUS OF GYMNASTS ON UNEVEN BARS GYMNAST ON BALANCE BEAM JUMP INTO PIT RISING NEW YORK 6TH GRADER, 10, TESSA QUINN SUPLINA, PERFORMING (SOUNDBITE) (English) RISING NEW YORK 6TH GRADER, 10, TESSA QUINN SUPLINA, SAYING: "She's [Simone Biles] the best. She's the greatest of all time, and I really look up to her and everything she does." REPORTER ASKING: "Why?" SUPLINA SAYING: "Just the way she's so committed and she's put her whole life into this sport. And obviously, there's a big outcome to that. And she's just so good." SIGN FOR GOTHAM GYMNASTICS PULL - UP LA GUARDIA PERFORMING ARTS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE, 18, MAYA DAVIS, JUMPING INTO PIT (SOUNDBITE) (English) LA GUARDIA PERFORMING ARTS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE, 18, MAYA DAVIS, SAYING: "I was shocked as the whole world was. We all, of course, wanted to see Simone out there, doing her thing. But I thought that her decision to pull out was really admirable. She's doing skills that nobody else in the world is doing. Skills that are super dangerous. And she really showed the whole world, especially young gymnasts, that you don't have to sacrifice everything, your physical and mental well-being for titles and medals." VARIOUS OF READYING HAND GEAR DAVIS ON BEAM 13 .(SOUNDBITE) (English) LA GUARDIA PERFORMING ARTS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE, 18, MAYA DAVIS, SAYING: "Sometimes, and this happens a lot with younger gymnasts who are first learning how to twist, but older gymnasts have it as well. We get this thing called the 'twisties,' which is what it's colloquially known as in gymnastics, where you get lost in the air. So you can say to yourself, 'OK, I'm just going to do one twist.' And you go and you set to do one twist and you could land up on your face, on your head, on your back. It's just when you get the 'twisties,' there's absolutely no way of knowing if you're going to be safe in the air. So it's a challenge that gymnasts face. When I saw Simone do that vault, the one and a half when she was supposed to go for the two and a half, that's kind of what I assumed she was going through. And it's something that is completely out of her control." VARIOUS OF DAVIS STRETCHING DAVIS ON BEAM (SOUNDBITE) (English) GOTHAM GYMNASTICS CO-OWNER AND HEAD COACH, DANIEL B. MIRANDA, SAYING: "They [the gymnasts] had mixed feelings because they're huge fans. So they didn't fully understand why at first, and then they, as they thought through and as we spoke about it, they understood that the difficulty and the amount of pressure she is under and the amount of time she waited to go to the Olympics and all these factors, factoring in this moment and for them was a little bit of disappointment. But at the same time, they understand that she is making a decision, which is for her own sake." UNEVEN BARS BEAM VARIOUS OF SUPLINA'S ROUTINES (SOUNDBITE) (English) RISING NEW YORK 6TH GRADER, 10, TESSA QUINN SUPLINA, SAYING: "Since Simone, like, did something different that like I don't think anyone else has ever done, I think more people will feel comfortable saying how they feel and maybe even dropping out of big competitions like that if they don't think it's safe. So it might cause less injuries in like big competitions like that." MIRROR / MAT GOTHAM GYMNASTICS EXTERIOR
- Embargoed: 12th August 2021 02:29
- Keywords: Gotham Gymnastics Simone Biles Tokyo Olympics gymnast mental health
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Gymnastics,Sport,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001ENRAYIV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The decision by American gymnast Simone Biles to prioritize her well-being and withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics was embraced by fellow gymnasts in New York on Wednesday (July 28).
"She's the best," said Tessa Quinn Suplina, a 10-year old who practices at Gotham Gymnastics in Brooklyn. "She's the greatest of all time, and I really look up to her and everything she does."
Biles, who won four gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, this week cited the pressure of living up to expectations and a need to protect her mental health for her decision to pull out of the team competition in Tokyo. The 24-year-old subsequently withdrew from the individual all-around competition as well.
"We get this thing called the 'twisties,' which is what it's colloquially known as in gymnastics, where you get lost in the air," said Maya Davis, a gymnast and recent graduate of La Guardia Performing Arts High School. "There's absolutely no way of knowing if you're going to be safe in the air. So it's a challenge that gymnasts face. When I saw Simone do that vault, the one and a half when she was supposed to go for the two and a half, that's kind of what I assumed she was going through. And it's something that is completely out of her control."
"I was shocked as the whole world was," Davis added. "We all, of course, wanted to see Simone out there, doing her thing. But I thought that her decision to pull out was really admirable."
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