Boria Majumdar in Paris
She has 40 medals at the Olympics and World Championships, of which an astonishing 30 are gold. No, we aren’t making these numbers up. We are just speaking about Simone Biles. An extraordinary athlete at her imperious best here in Paris, and she isn’t done yet. Three of her seven Olympic gold medals have been won here, and with two events still left, Biles is easily the athlete of these games alongside France’s Leon Marchand. And then, when you recall that she had almost given up in Tokyo and withdrawn from a host of events, you know that sport is always about ‘never say never’.
Biles is sheer poetry when she is performing, and an artist who knows her craft better than anyone. She leaves you in awe with one routine after another, and just when you think she is done, she will unveil one more routine which leaves you emotionally exhausted. How can someone be so good? How is it even possible?
For the Latest Sports News: Click Here
And then you know why. First, she is blessed with extraordinary talent. Second, she has worked the hardest to hone that talent. Third, and most important, she has come back the hard way and has now started to enjoy success again. The passion of performance, the audience, the spectacle – all of it is again working for her. It was missing in Tokyo, and Biles was not herself. Now, it is all back. And so is she. To watch her perform is a privilege and to watch her enthral is to visit an artist’s studio and then be spoilt for choice.
Someone who has the character to take on Donald Trump while competing at the Olympics has to be a very special person. Just think of her focus. Her day job is to take on the world and dazzle those present, plus the millions watching on television. Her evening pastime is to take on the former President for his racist remarks. As I said, Biles is in a league of her own and few can aspire to match that.
What we can do, however, is seek inspiration. Understand that in sport, it is never say never. You don’t give up, come what may. And if you do or are forced to do so, you know there is always a way back. You need to find that sweet spot. The mental balance. The zone, as we often like to say. And if you don’t find things going your way, it is okay to not be okay.
Anyone can feel undone or depressed. And if that’s the case, there is no harm in taking a break or telling the world that something is wrong. You are human after all, and it is fine if the world recognises that. Once that happens, frailties are par for the course and extraordinary feats of human excellence are celebrated as such. A young woman doesn’t really want to be God, and Biles stands testament to that.
Once she became human in our eyes in Tokyo, we started to appreciate her more. We knew that she too could feel pain like us, and suffer from self-doubt. And now, thanks to her, we know we can rid ourselves of that self-doubt and make it back again. At her young age, she will always be a beacon of hope and a tale of fulfilment. Moreover, the joy isn’t over yet. She will be there on Monday one more time, and we will yet again ask how anyone can be so damn good!
Also Read: “Hard to digest fourth-place finish”: Manu Bhaker