LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gymnast Simone Biles’ withdrawing from the 2020 Tokyo Games citing a need to focus on her mental health stunned the world. But local gymnasts and health professionals get where she’s coming from.

What You Need To Know

  • Following gymnast Simone Biles' decision to exit the competition, there's been a lot of support for mental health awareness

  • Local gymnasts and mental health professionals weigh in on Biles' stepping away from individual all-around in Tokyo

  • Experts said the all star gymnast's decision to take a mental health break should be a lesson for everyone

  • Team USA Gymnastics said she has not decided if she'll compete in other events she qualified for

The sky's the limit for upper level gymnast Kendall Guy who looks up to her olympic idols in Tokyo. Guy can relate to the pressure athletes are facing.

Even so, the young gymnast and her team were shocked to learn Simone Biles pulled out of the team competition after struggling to land a vault.

"It was a little weird to see her do that and we were all a little confused and then we found out that she decided to drop out and I was like a little shocked, I was actually shocked," Guy said.

Guy said she can relate to Biles after the decorated Olympian stepped off the mat to address mental health concerns.

"When I fall and get back up and facing that skill again it's been a really difficult thing to do, because all you see is like what happened last time before you go," Guy said.

The 14-year-old has spent 12 years practicing her craft inside Champion Gymnastics in Louisville.

"All we see is that perfectness and we just feel like we're imperfect. Everybody is human at the end of the day and I think it was very good to see that," Guy added.

Dr. Vanessa Shannon is the Director of Mental Performance at Norton Sports Health and University of Louisville Athletic Department. She said Biles’ decision was powerful.

"For someone who is the greatest, most accomplished American female gymnast of our time – to stand up and say that is extremely powerful," Shannon said.

She said many athletes she works with feel immense pressure to succeed.

"I think that pressure is something that athletes have learned over their lifetime to just think as a normal acceptable part of the process,” Shannon said. “So [they] should just bottle it up and I should just find a way to manage it or ignore it.”

Mental health advocates understand the stress one of the all star gymnasts must have felt. Dr. Shannon said if athletes are not in the right headspace, it fully affects how they perform.

"If we keep forcing athletes to choose to develop their identity in one singular direction as an athlete then when they start to struggle in their sport very quickly they can start to struggle in their life and vice versa," Shannon added.

Experts agree with the olympians' decision, adding that it's a reminder for not only athletes, but everyone to take mental health seriously.

"I think it will certainly help some people also have the courage to say, maybe what they have felt like they couldn’t say before whether they were afraid, whether they felt like they would disappoint people," Shannon said.

Either way, both Shannon and Guy have nothing but respect for Biles and said she’s a champion for the sport of gymnastics.

"I hope that it really provides insight to people about the complexities of having such a strong athletic identity and how it can affect you," Dr. Shannon said.

 "Sometimes you just need a mental break and if you really don’t feel safe you need to stop and some people just push themselves which isn’t good," said Guy.

There’s been an increase in the number of people facing challenges with their mental health amid the pandemic, Shannon said. She encourages everyone to start the conversation with their primary care doctor or a mental health professional.