[Brad Wilbur]

As a POHY (Person Who Has Yipped), I felt some feeling of camaraderie with Simone Biles at the Olympics.  Unfortunately for her, she didn’t have time to run out and find a left handed putter to use on floor exercise or uneven parallel bars.  Having to compete in a sport that calls for such an extreme amount of physical perfection, and then instill doubt into the equation, would be mind boggling.  She was reported to have a “medical issue” when she dropped out of the US team gymnastics event, but she seemed to deny it was a physical ailment in conversations with her teammates.   

[David_Tepper]

Brad -

As a yipper myself, it does not surprise me at all. The mind is a powerful and sometimes dangerous thing. As you say, the margin for error in gymnastics can be less than an inch. And falling off a balance beam hurts, unlike missing a 20 inch putt.


There has been more than one second baseman in the major leagues who yips his throws to first base, catchers who cannot throw the ball back to the pitcher or pitchers who cannot make a pickoff throw to first base.

DT

[Will Lozier]

I too can get a bit %!@@y on the greens (as David T. can attest!). Totally felt for her.


Also, if you are a Ted Lasso fan, it can happen to footballers too!!


Seriously...WATCH TED LASSO!


Cheers

[Matt MacIver]

I’m the full swing yips for 10+ years and it’s, well, a challenge. Wish her the best. The mind is a beautiful (turribul) thing.

[Rob Marshall]

I feel sorry for her, the build up, the incredible expectations of the world. It’s a lot for anyone to handle. I think it happens more than anyone thinks. Bobby Jones and Byron Nelson’s early retirements, Ian Baker Finch, Curtis Strange and even Seve seemed to just lose it.

[mike_beene]

Happens in trial law.

[Tim Leahy]

I haven't heard a peep out of the US coaches. Aren't they supposed to keep the gymnasts loose and take the pressure off as well as boosting their fragile egos. Where is Bela Karolyi when you need him? "You can do it!"

[Craig Sweet]

When you start a round, and you're not in a "good frame of mind", chances are the only thing you'll bruise is your ego.  Biles said she is doing things that are complicated and dangerous, and serious injury is possible if she is not mentally up for it.

[Carl Rogers]

NBC's coverage of this situation w/ Ms. Biles has only increased the problem.  Women's gymnastics has been wildly over hyped.
For me the interesting element of the Olympics are the contests with much less visibility that are rarely in the public eye.
Has the postponed Olympics increased media pressure to deliver higher ratings?

[Jason Topp]

Unlike golf, in gymnastics the yips can kill you.


 My daughter dropped out when she started to feel fear - which is only natural when you are hurtling high off the ground, upside down and in multiple directions.  I did not understand it at the time but in retrospect she did the right thing.

[Rob Marshall]

Here's and interesting take:


https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/olympics/pressure-is-a-privilege-says-djokovic-of-life-at-the-top/ar-AAMEXLv?li=BB1a4woc

[Ronald Montesano]

Always nice to read a bunch of old white guys pontificating on what a woman is feeling.

[Carl Rogers]

Always nice to read a bunch of old white guys pontificating on what a woman is feeling.

In this circumstance, it is self evident.

[Daryl David]

I’m sure Steve Sax could enlighten folks on what happens when a athlete gets the yips. Heck, they named the condition after him.


She was smart to bow out. Steve couldn’t break his neck by not being able to throw a baseball. For a gymnast, it’s life threatening.

[Jon Sweet]

Always nice to read a bunch of old white guys pontificating on what a woman is feeling.

Judge not a person’s opinion by the content of their statement, but by the color of their skin, their age, and their genitalia.
Ron M
2021

[Buck Wolter]

Padraig Harrington was talking about the fine line between knowledge and confidence when it comes to winning majors. The more knowledge you have the less confidence as you learn all the things that can go wrong (something like that). Maybe there's a reason that elite Gymnasts tend to be teenagers.

[Jason Thurman]

This is also interesting. A climber, literally named Alannah Yip, talking through some of the work she does to seek a "flow state" when competing, with contributions from legendary performance coach George Mumford.


https://fivethirtyeight.com/videos/how-an-olympic-climber-manages-her-anxiety-to-get-in-the-zone/

Of course, these things get more complicated in a sport as dangerous as gymnastics. And a graphic midway through the video above would suggest that a high level of skill is required to reach flow state... so recreational golfers like most of us might have to do more than just breathing techniques to benefit.

[Tommy Williamsen]

What seems to get lost is that Simone thought of the team. I'm not sure the USA wins silver if she competed, because she was so far from her best. Good on her. She was there to cheer on her teammates, which must have been difficult.

[Peter Sayegh]

What seems to get lost is that Simone thought of the team. I'm not sure the USA wins silver if she competed, because she was so far from her best. Good on her. She was there to cheer on her teammates, which must have been difficult.

Yes, she gave what she could athletically and that helped the team. However, suggesting it was "difficult" for her to cheer on her teammates only implies that she is selfish. Simone Biles is/was one the greatest gymnasts of my lifetime and I've enjoyed every minute I've seen her display her incredible talent.

[Tommy Williamsen]

What seems to get lost is that Simone thought of the team. I'm not sure the USA wins silver if she competed, because she was so far from her best. Good on her. She was there to cheer on her teammates, which must have been difficult.

Yes, she gave what she could athletically and that helped the team. However, suggesting it was "difficult" for her to cheer on her teammates only implies that she is selfish. Simone Biles is/was one the greatest gymnasts of my lifetime and I've enjoyed every minute I've seen her display her incredible talent.

I wasn't thinking of it that way. The difficult part was that she was wishing that she could have been able to be out there for her team and was letting them down, even though she did the right thing.

[Pete Lavallee]

Turns out that it is not an uncommon condition and they even have a name for it: “ the twisties”!

[jeffwarne]

 the best in her field ever-
lifelong dedication and unprecedented expertise in her craft.

-sexually abused in Olympic training care.
-lost in the air performing an incredibly dangerous stunt.



Maybe just give her the benefit of the doubt?
selfish?
Holy cow..
Watching ANYTHING gymnastic related after bowing out, after a lifetime of dedication and sacrifice, would be difficult.(much less feeling responsible if the team didn't win)

[Jeff Schley]

Sad this happened as it robbed her of what was most likely going to be a very successful performance with a gold medal. She didn't need to perform her best ever, just the best she could. This is big time pressure and keep in mind how young these athletes are in years and life experience, it is easy to Monday morning qb their decisions but they are living them.

[Tim Leahy]

Turns out that it is not an uncommon condition and they even have a name for it: “ the twisties”!

Sounds like something David Duval had with his inner ear. Took a while to diagnose and ended his career. Could be physical along with mental.

[John Emerson]

Turns out that it is not an uncommon condition and they even have a name for it: “ the twisties”!

Sounds like something David Duval had with his inner ear. Took a while to diagnose and ended his career. Could be physical along with mental.

Vertigo is not the same as the twisties.  Vertigo is a physical medical condition affecting the inner ear which controls balance.  Twisties is a mental condition.

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()