The quest of various Americans to win gold medals in track and field competition are far from the only big stories with the Olympics due to start July 26. Perhaps the biggest one away from the track is the return to Olympic competition of reigning world champion gymnast Simone Biles. She became only the fourth American woman in history to compete in three Olympic Games after she placed first in the all-round competition June 30 at the Trials in Minneapolis.
While Biles became the most decorated gymnast in the history of the world championships after last year’s event, she also wants to permanently bury the memory of the Tokyo Games in 2021. That time she dealt with what is known in the gymnastics world as “the twisties,” a mental block that causes competitors to lose track of their body positions. Biles ended up withdrawing from several events, then took an extended break from the sport before returning with a vengeance last year. She cites “being in a good mental spot” as a key factor in making her return to the Olympics. “Seeing my therapist every Thursday is kind of religious for me,” Biles told NBC “So, that’s why I am here today.”
She also discounts any concerns about being the oldest woman gymnast in the Olympics since the ‘50s, saying she knew she “wasn’t done” after Tokyo.“Just getting back in the gym and working hard and trusting the process… I knew I’d be back,” Biles added. She also enjoys being a mentor to the younger gymnasts. “I know exactly how they are feeling,” Biles said. “If I can be a mentor and a guide, that’s what I am going to do to kind of lighten the load.”
Basketball is a sport that America is supposed to dominate, and both the men and women’s teams are defending Olympic champions. But neither team is necessarily a lock for the gold medal. In fact the last two times the United States men’s basketball team was involved in international competition they finished an ugly fourth in the FIBA World Cup last year, losing to both Germany in the semifinals and Canada in the bronze medal game. That embarrassment is no part of the reason why both head coach Steve Kerr and managing director Grant Hill have stressed having healthy players able and willing to be on the court fulltime. They replaced Kawhi Leonard with Derrick White mainly due to uncertainty over his health status. They know that the international teams from France, Germany, Spain and Canada, to cite just four, are loaded with NBA players. However there is a question about why NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown got left off the team and three other Celtics were chosen.
Brown publicly questioned the move, and raised the specter of Nike stepping in and insisting he be left off due to his criticism of them. Hill responded by telling NESN, “For a good portion of my career, I wore FILA. That was supposed to be a joke,” Hill told reporters, per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. “We’re proud of our partners obviously at USA Basketball. This is about putting together a team. … The responsibility that I have is to put together a team. And a team that compliments each other, a team that fits, a team that will give us the best opportunity for success. Whatever theories that might be out there, they’re just that.” He added that the toughest part of the job was leaving well-qualified players off the roster that he’s a “fan of.”
But the criticism about Brown was mild compared to the furor when it turned out Caitlin Clark got left off the women’s team. Such top pundits and commentators as ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser and USA Today’s Christine Brennan were sharply critical of that decision. Selection committee chair Jen Rizzotti told the Associated Press that the committee was aware of the outside pressure to add the former Iowa Hawkeyes star.
“Here’s the basketball criteria that we were given as a committee and how do we evaluate our players based on that?” Rizzotti said. “And when you base your decision on criteria, there were other players that were harder to cut because they checked a lot more boxes. Then sometimes it comes down to position, style of play for (coach Cheryl Reeve) and then sometimes a vote.” Rizzotti also acknowledged Clark’s popularity, which was not a factor in the decision-making process. “It would be irresponsible for us to talk about her in a way other than how she would impact the play of the team,” Rizzotti said. “Because it wasn’t the purview of our committee to decide how many people would watch or how many people would root for the U.S. It was our purview to create the best team we could for Cheryl.”
If either team fails to win the gold medal, there will be plenty of second-guessing.
But it certainly makes watching the competition, which began last week with games against select teams, even more intriguing. Among other things the women’s team will play a WNBA All-Star team whose roster will include Clark as well as Angel Reese, who also wasn’t chosen. That should be quite a big more competitive than your usual All-Star game exhibition contest.
Next week: A homegrown track star goes to the Olympics.
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