Filipa Martins shines with megastar Simone Biles

It was one of the most anticipated moments of the Olympic Games, and Simone Biles lived up to all the expectations. In front of movie stars (Tom Cruise and Jessica Chastain) or music stars (Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg or Ariana Grande), she showed that she shines brightest in artistic gymnastics.

Three years ago in Tokyo, Biles was aiming for six gold medals after winning four in Rio de Janeiro. But in the Japanese capital, he withdrew from four individual finals and “only” won team silver and bronze on the balance beam, blaming his decision on “mental health issues.” He did not feel confident in his body and it was decided to stay away from the competition to avoid being put at risk by the difficulty of his routine.

She has been a standard-bearer for the importance of mental health in professional sport for the past few years, and on Sunday she showed that she has overcome her self-doubt. She was the strongest in qualifying, and no panic could stop her. During the warm-up for the floor exercise, the second of four events, he appeared to twist his left ankle. “He felt a prick in his calf. It never occurred to him to give up,” explained his coach, France’s Cecile Landy. He connected his foot first, then his leg, and shone on the floor, vault and asymmetrical bars.

Filipa Martins also shone, becoming the first Portuguese gymnast to reach the individual all-around final (four events for women and six for men). In 18th place in the qualification (24 will reach the final), “Yurchenko” contributed greatly to the double pirouette, a jump on a horse he has been training “since 2014 or 2015.” “It’s just such a risky jump that we were always afraid of. It wasn’t until I was 28 that I competed,” he said.