Facing mental struggles in a sport like gymnastics is not new. Not long ago, admitting it publicly used to be a tough task for gymnasts. However, the narrative soon changed after 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? 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 found 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?
It was about facing every kind of personal attack from Jordan Chiles’ former gymnastics coach. As per her, that coach (she didn’t take her name in the interaction) raised questions about her eating habits, bodily features, her performances, her whereabouts, and whatnot. However, Jordan tried to make peace with the situation. She changed her eating habits and also was on her way to embracing the changes. But the sudden changes became the reason for her trauma. For someone who grew up in Vancouver, Washington, and took gymnastics as her natural sport, the issues were too big. Apart from these, there was something more.
The trauma made Chiles pay a bigger price. She had been a part of the US team since 2013. But in 2018, she failed to make it to the senior World team. She couldn’t find out what to be done and the multiple whammies left her nowhere. However, the hype girl had Simone Biles with the magic wand. And Jordan has been full of praise for her. But Simone and a few more American gymnasts are on the same list, facing issues in their coaching facilities at some point in their professional careers.
Jordan Chiles had to hear foul language because of her eating habits. However, Simone Biles once had to remain underfed in her coaching facility. No, it wasn’t about WCC. Rather, it came much earlier, when she was 12, and in those days, she remained under the supervision of the then-US national gymnastics coaches. However, the supervision often led to her not being fed enough. And it wasn’t about her only.
In a shocking revelation published in The Independent in 2021, Simone admitted that in Karolyi Ranch, there had been gymnasts who were “frequently verbally abused about their weight and size, underfed and lied to or misled about the severity of their own injuries.” At that moment, the gymnasts didn’t have any way to thwart those challenges. But Simone and a few others had something to fulfill their hunger for food.
The way out was to steal food from the cafeteria in the gymnastics training camps. Yes, Simone Biles had been in such cases. She was there because she didn’t have any other options to save herself from being underfed. Simone’s senior in the national camp, Dominique Moceanu, almost had a similar experience to the Karolyis.
Once a part of Magnificent Seven, Dominique could have written a few more gymnastics tales on the mat. But the challenges from her mentors didn’t help her cause. In fact, last year, while penning down her emotions on Bela’s death, she wrote, “Anyone who has followed my story knows that my journey under Bela’s guidance as my coach came with immense challenges. His harsh words and critical demeanor often weighed heavily on me.” Dominique had to put an end to her elite career after competing in only one Olympic. Jordan Chiles might consider herself in this aspect. She has Simone Biles with her.
