Addressing mental health: Simone Biles has made it OK for athletes not to be OK

Despite losing a chance to win five or six medals, Biles achieved a significant triumph: She pushed mental health issues to the forefront of conversations in sports and beyond. Photo: AFP

A SHOCKWAVE sliced through the Ariake Gymnastics Centre early in the women's team competition at the Tokyo Olympics.

Simone Biles, who was favoured to equal or top the five gymnastics medals she won at the 2016 Rio Games, had barely stayed upright while landing a vault she should have done with the confident flair that earned her the nickname GOAT — greatest of all time.