Simone Biles and mental health have been dominating the headlines at the Tokyo Olympics over the past week. NBC hasn’t ignored these issues despite Biles’s withdrawals impacting their viewership.
Mike Tirico sat down with former USA swimmer Michael Phelps in an exclusive NBC Olympics interview to dive deeper into these issues from an athlete who can relate to Biles. Many consider her the greatest gymnast of all time, but she has struggled with a case of the “twisties” at the Tokyo Olympics.
The term refers to a miscommunication between a gymnast’s brain and her body that makes them unable to perform tricks they can normally do in their sleep. Performing while dealing with these mental blocks can be very dangerous in a sport that requires hyper-focus and athleticism.
“Maybe we’ll see change,” Phelps said in the exclusive NBC Olympics interview on Peacock. “Maybe we’ll actually be able to help athletes. One of the things I’ve been frustrated about is the lack of change and lack of support we have for mental health both during competition and post-competition.”
Phelps has been open and forthcoming about his mental health battles. Showing that even the most decorated Olympic athlete ever hits roadblocks sometimes, especially in a lonely environment like this year’s event.
“Dark. Scary,” Phelps said about being alone in Tokyo. “I had one kind of moment here where I just spun a little bit. For me, it can happen whenever it wants. I can wake up one day and feel like a million bucks, and the next day I can wake up and feel like all I want to do is curl up into a ball and go into a black hole. That’s my life. I’m a human being. I experience emotions just like everyone else does.”
Props to NBC for shining a brighter light on these issues. They allowed Phelps and Tirico an open space for discussion that can help fans and people worldwide understand these pressures a little bit better.