Olympian Dominique Moceanu praises Simone Biles with heartbreaking story of her own injury at 14
Following Simone Biles' surprising withdrawal from both Tuesday's women's gymnastics team final and Thursday's individual all-around, former 'Magnificent 7' gymnast and Olympian Dominique Moceanu shared her support for Biles' decision — a choice Moceanu said she would have never been free enough to make.
"[Simone Biles'] decision demonstrates that we have a say in our own health," Moceanu tweeted alongside video of an almost-devastating tumble she took during the 1996 Atlanta Games. Despite a "tibial stress fracture" and "no cervical spine exam," Moceanu still competed in the floor final "minutes later" because she didn't feel she had the agency not to.
Essentially underscoring Moceanu's comments, other gymnasts have pointed out the difficulty of the vault that nearly bested Biles on Tuesday, adding that she could have ended up seriously injured were she not so skilled.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Biles has since explained she was "second guessing myself" and "didn't want to go out there and do something dumb and get hurt." Suffering from "the twisties" after her vault, Biles thought it best to instead "let the girls do it." Athletes have rallied behind her.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?
In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in music
under the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.
The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
South Carolina ends perfect season with NCAA title
Speed Read The women's basketball team won a victory over superstar Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring record
speed read College basketball star Caitlin Clark set the new record in Iowa's defeat of Ohio State
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Eight-year-old Brit Bodhana Sivanandan makes chess history
Speed Read Sivanandan has been described as a 'phenomenon' by chess masters
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Watch Simone Biles win her record 8th US gymnastics championship
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Spain beats England 1-0 to win its first Women's World Cup
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
US knocked out of Women's World Cup in stunning exit
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Katie Ledecky surpasses Michael Phelps for most world championship titles
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published