SEATTLE — At the 2021 Olympics, Simone Biles shocked the world when she withdrew from team competition.
Biles hit a tipping point in Toyko when she experienced "the twisties." A term referring to a mental block when a gymnast loses control of their body in the air.
Biles is now a mental health advocate, and she's not alone.
Standing on a platform 32 feet above the water can be a scary and lonely place. Olympic diver and Shoreline native Katrina Young has been doing it since she was seven.
"If you do the dive right it feels magical," Young said. "It feels like you're just like flying through the air like you're an arrow just having the wind run past your face. You kind of feel like supernatural in the moment. Now if you do it wrong, you feel super human."
Olympic athletes spend thousands of hours practicing and trying to perfect their craft. Physically, they are some of the most gifted athletes in the world, but they also have to have a strong mental approach to the game.
"Honestly, it's a constant battle every day," Young said. "I'm working on my mentality. I'm working on my mind and body connection. And it's something that I have a team around me helping. I have a sports psychologist. I have my teammates. I have so many people that encourage me. I literally have a huge team that's always inspiring me and encouraging me."
Young knows she needs balance when she's diving, but more importantly, balance in her life. She said you have to believe in yourself and love yourself, no matter the results.
"I think the biggest message that I take from pushing myself, is being my best self," Young said. "It's about becoming the person I want to be and to do that I really have to show self-care."
In 2021 Nevin Harrison won a gold medal in Toyko. The Seattle native is back to defend her title in Paris, and while she's suffered some injuries along the way, she also knows about dealing with mental struggles.
"I remember in Tokyo when I heard about Simone Biles, and I don't think I fully understood it," Harrison said. "I think it's because I never experienced a level of spotlight, but she did. I find myself lucky enough to never experience that level of spotlight sterile, but the amount increased and then I realized, 'Oh, that's what it feels like.' That's what she was going through."
Being vulnerable, and having conversations about mental health, Harrison wants everyone to know, it's OK not to be OK.
"I think the good parts definitely exist and what the world sees of me from the outside is definitely there," Harrisons aid. "But it's also okay to be a complete mess. A lot of the time people don't see that, they think she's put together and well-spoken and goes out and wins races, but I also have meltdowns on the water, and I cry, and I say, 'I don't want to do this anymore' and that's totally fine. Like you don't have to have this plastic mold of yourself 24/7. Because you think that's what you need to do. I think it's all kind of a process of really good days and really bad days. And if you expect perfection every single day, you're never going to get that and that's something I've struggled with and I've learned that I'm not perfect. And if I tell the world that I'm perfect, then it gives this ridiculous image to these little girls and think that they need to do that as well when so far so far from that. I think it's just about doing your best and showing up every day and giving it your all when some days that might not be very much but that's completely fine."
The International Olympic Committee (ICO) will use Paris to promote wellness among athletes.
The IOC has launched a mindfulness program providing 2,000 licenses to athletes for the Calm app as a day-to-day attempt to support mental health and well-being.
A mental fitness helpline will be available for all athletes in Paris.