American snowboarder Chloe Kim hails Simone Biles’ ‘touching and inspirational’ decision
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Chloe Kim and Simone Biles
One of the greatest gymnasts of all time, Simone Biles stunned the world at the Tokyo Olympics as she withdrew from five finals. And American snowboarder Chloe Kim is mighty impressed by the gymnast’s gutsy decision. Tokyo 2020 was supposed to be Biles’ coronation as the GOAT of gymnastics. Instead, it turned out to be a tryst as she pulled out of the finals of almost all the events.
Biles withdrew from five of her six finals at Tokyo 2020 to focus on her mental health. The four-time gold medallist suffered from a phenomenon known as the twisties that affected her spatial awareness during the competition. Chloe hailed her decision as inspirational as it showed the world the hardships an athlete undergoes during their journey to the pinnacle.
“Having that comfort knowing that, ‘Hey, I’m doing something really dangerous, or I’m doing something that is hard on my body, if I mentally can’t do it, then I shouldn’t,‘” Kim told TIME. “It’s in my best interest. Showing the world that you have to put yourself first and give up something like an Olympic gold medal, that was very touching and inspirational.“
Chloe Kim relives her ‘horror’ days
Chloe Kim shot to fame following her gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The support and love of the entire nation flowed in for the Olympic champion but it proved to be too much for the teenager then. All the attention made Chloe “hate her life” as she struggled to keep her cool.
“I hated life,” she explains that she felt like she couldn’t even go out after her success on the world stage without being approached. “It makes you angry. I just wanted a day where I was left alone,” she said. “And it’s impossible. And I appreciate that everyone loves and supports me, but I just wish people could understand what I was going through up to that point.“
“Everyone was like, ‘I just met her, and she’s such a bitch.’ I’m not a bitch. I just had the most exhausting two months of my life, and the minute I get home I’m getting hassled. I just want to get my f—— ham and cheese sandwich and go.“
Following the gold medal at Pyeongchang, Chloe Kim has won two World Championships and is all set for the Beijing Games. The 21-year-old shares that she has several new tricks lined up for the event and is excited to go all out. At the Pyeongchang Games, Kim became the first female snowboarder to land back-to-back 1080s and a frontside double cork 1080.
Chloe can’t wait to defend her title as she gears up to unveil her new moves. “They’re an upgrade from everything I’ve done,” she says. “Just let me vibe. I’m just trying to chill. No, I’m just kidding. You just expect a lot out of me. I’m going to go off.“
Also Read | Who is Simone Biles sister Adria Biles?
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Anshuman Mahapatra
(1496 Articles Published)