The Real Winners In Paris: Black Olympians Prioritizing Their Mental Health

Team USA remains in the lead as the country with the most medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics as the games progress at full force. With only a few days left before the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, August 11, the international sporting event has cemented several unforgettable moments in Olympic history. Although tennis champion Coco Gauff lost in the second round, she started the games as the youngest American to carry the flag during the Opening Ceremony. U.S. gymnasts  Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles, and Brazilian Rebeca Andrade became the first all-Black gymnasts podium winners, among other moments of Black excellence. Black joy is on full display, and the upbeat energy is noticeable. While winning is the obvious goal for the elite contenders, many are walking away with a reward bigger than any gold, silver, or bronze medal: their mental health.

Mental health is a growing conversation in sports that several professional athletes are spotlighting. As much as sports are physical activities, the mental aspect is often disregarded. Athletes aren't questioned when they are recovering from a sports injury. However, that same acceptance doesn't typically extend when the injury is "invisible." Athletes constantly put their bodies through rigorous training and practices to be the best in their field. They are mistaken for machines and not humans. 

Fans often dehumanize these players because they are only privy to the triumphant outcomes and lavish lifestyles publicly displayed. Their perception is limited, which causes a lack of empathy for unseen challenges. As a result, many athletes are subjected to bullying and hate if they don't win or their performance level doesn't live up to the expectations placed on them by spectators and stakeholders. The pressures to perform at an exceptionally high level lead to  mental health issues among many athletes. Research shows that up to 35% of elite athletes reported having a mental health disorder, and the percentage for college athletes is higher.

Between the weight of perfection placed on Black athletes to the constant critiques of their appearance, internalizing those high and unrealistic expectations, can lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges. Thanks to competitors like Simone Biles — who has spoken extensively about her mental health since she pulled out of the Tokyo 2020 games — more athletes are vocalizing their internal battles and raising awareness about the importance of mental health in sports.

Shedding light on mental health on the Paris world stage is another step forward in removing the oppressive stigmas and humanizing the well-being of athletes. There have been several instances where Olympians have opened up about their mental health battles and reminded viewers that there is more to them than their sport. After winning gold in the men's 100m race, Noah Lyles took to Twitter to share a powerful message about not letting struggles define him. "I have asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and depression," the track star wrote. "But, I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become. Why not you!" Now that Lyles fell short of expectations in the 200m finals (he finished third, winning a bronze medal), fans should remember that these athletes are human, and despite talking a big game to win gold, Lyles is still a champion who overcame a lot to medal at Olympics, which is not a small feat.

Olympic hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone previously opened up about her battle with anxiety and how she learned to rely on her spirituality to quiet her thoughts. In an interview with Women's Health, the Olympian shared how she learned to no longer attach her self-worth to winning. "Now, when I step on the line, I'm not running to prove a point, the 25-year-old said. "I'm not running to validate myself, and I'm not running to glorify myself. It's using the gift I've been given to point all of the attention back to Him and show that He's worth it, win, lose, or draw. It brings so much peace to know that if I lose this race, I did not lose any value." In April 2023, gold and bronze medalist Sunisa Lee stepped away from gymnastics after being diagnosed with two kidney diseases. As she made her grand return to the mat this year (ultimately winning three medals in Paris), the decorated gymnast revealed to ELLE that her mental health is a priority and therapy is an integral part of her eight-hour training day.

We know that female athletes experience scrutiny and social pressures differently than their male counterparts, and that has been on full display in Paris. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has received a flood of backlash after J.K. Rowling falsely tweeted the claim that Khelif was transgender, unleashing a firestorm of controversy over Khelif’s gender identity, after she won a match over Angela Carini, who quit 46 seconds in (and has since apologized to Khelif).

Taiwanese boxer  Lin Yu-ting was also faced with similar false accusations. For several days, Khelif has been a target of online hate as questions about her gender fill the Internet. To be clear, Khelif is a cisgender woman. In an interview with the Associated Press, Khelif urged fans to end bullying for all athletes because of the "massive effects" that result from the harassment. "It can destroy people, it can kill people's thoughts, spirit and mind," Khelif continued in Arabic. "It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying." Khelif's encounter isn't the first time a female athlete of color has been at the center of a gender debate. 

Along with the regular emotional stress that comes with sports, Black and brown women are faced with unfair scrutiny over their bodies. Serena Williams has endured misconceptions about her gender because of her muscular physique. Black and women of color are  constantly depicted as not "feminine enough," whether it be based on their physical composition or, in Khelif's case, alleged elevated testosterone levels (the details of the “gender test” Khelif is said to have failed have not been released). Audiences never fail to dissect Black women, especially when it comes to their appearance. In Paris,  Biles was subjected to  unnecessary criticism of her hair. In her Instagram stories, the gymnast warned people to keep their unwanted opinions to themselves. It was another example of prioritizing herself and her mental health.

The recent wave of elite athletes embracing discussions about the importance of mental health makes space for viewers to see them as humans and not machines. Their advocacy encourages the continuation of open conversations and removes the shame tied to mental health. The 2024 Paris Olympics ends this week, and there's no doubt that Team USA will continue to secure more medals. However, the prize that genuinely matters for athletes has come from conquering the battle from within.