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Simone Biles Mentioned The ‘Twisties’ As The Reason For Her Withdrawal, So Gymnasts Are Explaining What That Means
Since Simone Biles quit the team final at the Tokyo Olympics, everyone has been asking the same question: “Why?”
“I had no idea where I was in the air,” Biles explained her decision. “You have to be there 100% or 120% because if you’re not, you could get hurt.”
Former gymnasts immediately recognized what she said between the lines and have taken to social media to break down a condition known as “the twisties.”
On the surface level, the twisties is a mental state where your muscle memory shuts down in the air mid-twist. It can happen to any gymnast at any time, and is even more likely under pressure.
A mental block doesn’t seem like something that could happen to arguably the best gymnast of all time, someone who routinely performs incredibly well on the biggest stages. But brains are tricky.
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Vault was the first event for the US and Russia in the team finals and Biles was supposed to do an Amanar — a backward flipping vault with 2.5 twists. The 24-year-old athlete has been successfully competing in the vault since she was 16. But in warmups, she bailed out of it, doing just one 1.5 twists out of a vault. In the competition, it was worse: 1.5 twists again, but with less height, forcing a deep step out of it. Biles pulled out of the rest of the team competition. Later, she also withdrew from the individual all-around competition, saying she wanted to focus on her mental health instead.
The Russian Olympic Committee won the team gold medal with 169.528 points. The U.S. claimed silver with 166.096, while Great Britain took the bronze at 164.096. The Americans won this competition in both the 2016 and 2012 Olympics.
Athletes did one heck of a job explaining the situation
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I was 14 y/o w/ a tibial stress fracture, left alone w/ no cervical spine exam after this fall. I competed in the Olympic floor final minutes later. @Simone_Biles 🤍 decision demonstrates that we have a say in our own health—“a say” I NEVER felt I had as an Olympian. pic.twitter.com/LVdghdAh1g
— Dominique Moceanu (@Dmoceanu) July 28, 2021
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Among many others, Aleah Finnegan, a gymnast on the USA national team, spoke about the subject on Twitter. “I’ve had the twisties since I was 11. I cannot imagine the fear of having it happen to you during a competition. They have very limited equipment and mats in Tokyo to help something like this get fixed let alone within a day. You have absolutely no control over your body and what it does.”
Just like other sports, gymnastics is mental and where the sport differs from many others is that if gymnasts are not in the right frame of mind to execute their dangerous skills, they will not simply run slower or strike a ball into a fence. Each complex skill comes with the risk of serious injury, and it is something they are keenly aware of each day.
Christina Myers, a former gymnast and now a gymnastics coach from Birmingham, Alabama, told BBC News that the twisties happen “when your brain and body disconnect”.
“Imagine skydiving and your parachute won’t open,” she explained. “Your body starts adding extra twists and flips to the skill you’re supposed to be doing, and it can affect even the skills that feel as routine as walking to an elite gymnast.”
“Your brain wants nothing more than to perform the intended skill correctly, but your body feels like it suddenly has a mind of its own.”
Myers added that “because the twisties are mainly psychological, the harder you try to push through, the harder the twisties push back”.
And people really appreciated their input
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Celebrities also expressed their support for Simone
Biles has been very thankful for all the support she has received. She recently shared this short but sweet message:
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What do you think ?
James016 4 years ago
The driving analogy helped me make sense of it. I would be terrified of being in mid air and not knowing where I was. There has been comments about her letting her team and country down. I doubt her team mates, coach and anyone else who actually matters feel that way. It also really wound up Pierce Morgan (a UK TV presenter and "journalist") so she did the right thing. For those who are not aware, Morgan walked out of a TV studio on live TV and quit his job because he couldn't handle the weatherman not agreeing with him. Pot, Kettle etc
Sian Edwards 4 years ago
Piers Morgan is a total hypocrite and should be ignored completely!
Load More Replies...
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago (edited)
I take issue with the very first sentence in this post. She did not "quit". She's never "quit". She withdrew herself because she did not want to place herself in extreme physical danger. Yes, what she does is extremely dangerous in and of itself, but she has lost her crucial ability to be sure of where she's going to land. Does everybody not think that she herself is more upset than any of us? She came in with not only the weight of the country on her shoulders, but the weight of gymnastic history (which she has made more than enough right now) I have so much admiration for her. It took a lot of courage to withdraw. She's going through an incredibly hard time. No one should make it worse by judging her for her decision. She really doesn't owe anyone an explanation nor justification for her decision. This is actually a very personal issue that is playing out on the world stage. Its wonderful that all the love sent her way has helped. Knowing the SHE matters as a person is a first step.
Alexia 4 years ago
There were cases that turned into tragedies in gymnastics, because the gymnast had no say and was pushed to train or compete. Sang Lan - who fell on her neck while performing a vault and is parallyzed since then - is just one example. Funny that many of those who are lashing out at Simone for being a "quitter" etc. are hardly able to climb some stairs without gasping; still, they somehow believe they are in the position to judge an athlete's decisions.
Rachael Maree 4 years ago (edited)
I know someone who experienced something similar however doing a new skill at competitive trampolining training. He had trained the skill broken into different stages and when it came to doing the skill for the first time as one, rather than waiting for the coach to call him “OUT” he though he knew where he was in the air. He kicked out of the skill too early, was tricked by his aerial awareness and landed on his head from a significant height. Dislocated his neck (cervical spine) and severed his spinal cord. He is now quadriplegic. Not only was he an incredibly gifted and experienced athlete who had Olympic ambitions, he never anticipated his would life take a turn like this. Simone did the right thing
Nikki Sevven 4 years ago
I was a gymnast in my youth. I once watched while a more experienced gymnast got the twisties while running a series of tricks. She landed badly, and her tibia (shin bone) came out through her skin. Simone is not weak-willed; she's practical and making the best decision for herself and her team.
James016 4 years ago
The driving analogy helped me make sense of it. I would be terrified of being in mid air and not knowing where I was. There has been comments about her letting her team and country down. I doubt her team mates, coach and anyone else who actually matters feel that way. It also really wound up Pierce Morgan (a UK TV presenter and "journalist") so she did the right thing. For those who are not aware, Morgan walked out of a TV studio on live TV and quit his job because he couldn't handle the weatherman not agreeing with him. Pot, Kettle etc
Sian Edwards 4 years ago
Piers Morgan is a total hypocrite and should be ignored completely!
Load More Replies... Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago (edited)
I take issue with the very first sentence in this post. She did not "quit". She's never "quit". She withdrew herself because she did not want to place herself in extreme physical danger. Yes, what she does is extremely dangerous in and of itself, but she has lost her crucial ability to be sure of where she's going to land. Does everybody not think that she herself is more upset than any of us? She came in with not only the weight of the country on her shoulders, but the weight of gymnastic history (which she has made more than enough right now) I have so much admiration for her. It took a lot of courage to withdraw. She's going through an incredibly hard time. No one should make it worse by judging her for her decision. She really doesn't owe anyone an explanation nor justification for her decision. This is actually a very personal issue that is playing out on the world stage. Its wonderful that all the love sent her way has helped. Knowing the SHE matters as a person is a first step.
Alexia 4 years ago
There were cases that turned into tragedies in gymnastics, because the gymnast had no say and was pushed to train or compete. Sang Lan - who fell on her neck while performing a vault and is parallyzed since then - is just one example. Funny that many of those who are lashing out at Simone for being a "quitter" etc. are hardly able to climb some stairs without gasping; still, they somehow believe they are in the position to judge an athlete's decisions.
Rachael Maree 4 years ago (edited)
I know someone who experienced something similar however doing a new skill at competitive trampolining training. He had trained the skill broken into different stages and when it came to doing the skill for the first time as one, rather than waiting for the coach to call him “OUT” he though he knew where he was in the air. He kicked out of the skill too early, was tricked by his aerial awareness and landed on his head from a significant height. Dislocated his neck (cervical spine) and severed his spinal cord. He is now quadriplegic. Not only was he an incredibly gifted and experienced athlete who had Olympic ambitions, he never anticipated his would life take a turn like this. Simone did the right thing
Nikki Sevven 4 years ago
I was a gymnast in my youth. I once watched while a more experienced gymnast got the twisties while running a series of tricks. She landed badly, and her tibia (shin bone) came out through her skin. Simone is not weak-willed; she's practical and making the best decision for herself and her team.
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