Facing mental struggles in a sport like gymnastics is not new. Well, to admit it publicly used to be a tough task for the gymnasts. Simone Biles did it in 2021, from the platform of the Tokyo Olympics. Later, several gymnasts came forward and accepted the presence of this boon in them. But what about countering it successfully? There will always be problems. But how to solve those without compromising the capacity? Jordan Chiles may know one or two things about it. In her recent interview with People, the Olympian discussed facing the issue. Also, she was open to discussing how she got over it. Interestingly, in every turn, one name remained common: Simone Biles.
On February 26, People published a comprehensive transcript of Jordan Chiles’ interview. During the meeting, the Olympian explained how issues with her coaching facility forced her into the pit. “I wanted to get it off my chest. I wanted to let people know that I had really, really down times. I’ve been in the dark, I’ve been in the deepest part of the ocean,” she said in the interaction. Those were pure suicidal thoughts. Fortunately, Simone appeared in the scene as a blessing and advised her to enter the World Champions Center in Houston, Texas. Jordan followed that suggestion and the rest, as they claim, is history.
Meanwhile, Jordan felt herself in the middle of the sport once again under the tutelage of WCC coaches Cecile and Laurent Landi. Moreover, the change in the coaching facility brought her mental health to a better place. This kind of change remained instrumental in bringing her success to the mat. In addition, she discovered the transformative power of change through these alterations. Perhaps this realization made Jordan say in the interaction, “I’m happy that I was able to revisit those things and I’m happy now that people get to read it and understand, and hopefully that gives them the confidence to be like, ‘You know what? Maybe I need to talk about something [too].’” Brave words, aren’t those?
You can see how Simone’s advice for her BFF changed everything. But what actually happened in those days in Jordan’s former coaching facility? What were the signs of the complications giving birth to suicidal thoughts?
