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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsExcellent, clarifying discussion of "twisties" from several Olympic athletes
and the danger thereof, including one who is paralyzed due to "twisties".
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Former gymnasts explain the dreaded 'twisties' that prompted Simone Biles to withdraw
by Annie Reneau 07.28.21
https://www.upworthy.com/former-gymnasts-explain-the-dangerous-twisties-that-prompted-simone-biles-to-withdraw
"...It's not only scary and unnerving, it's incredibly dangerous even if you're doing basic gymnastics. The level of skills Simone throws combined with the height and power she gets can lead to catastrophic injury if you're not confident and connected to your kinesthesia.
This isn't as easy to fix as just sleeping it off and hoping for a better day tomorrow. It can look like retraining entire routines and tricks. I never mastered my front 1.5 with a full twist because I'd get the twisties and it would mess with my other twisting dives.
So. When Simone says she's taking it day by day, this is why. She's not soft. She didn't choke. She isn't giving up. It's a phenomenon every gymnast and diver has experienced and she happens to be experiencing it at the Olympics. Can you imagine the frustration? The heartbreak?
I'll also add that @Simone_Biles choosing to bow out pushes back against a dark narrative in gymnastics that you sacrifice yourself for the sake of the sport; you are the product of your coaches and you owe them wins, no matter the personal cost.
No. You owe nobody anything, and you especially don't owe them your body, your health, or your autonomy. I hope every single tiny baby gymnast got that message on self-advocacy and setting boundaries loud and clear..."
Hekate
(90,189 posts)Instead, we ALL win because we get to have her around for whatll probably wind up being a LOT longer.
She really is a champion role model. More so now than ever before.
paulkienitz
(1,295 posts)What amazes us most about what they do is their superhuman degree of proprioception that allows them to do all those precise twists and tumbles in midair -- a sense that they push to the limits of what's possible. Interfere with that super-precise sense of location and the sport becomes way too dangerous.