MILLBURY, Mass. - Central Massachusetts gymnasts say members of Team USA, like Simone Biles and Suni Lee, are role models. 

Gabbie Pawlak and her teammates are keeping a close eye on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The gymnasts got up early Thursday to watch Lee win the gold medal in the Women’s All Around competition.

“It’s so inspiring,” Pawlak said. “I watched a lot of them since they were kids, and that's always been my dream even though I'm getting older.”

Carlee Ryan has big dreams, too.

“I wish I was there, every time, but it's really fun watching it,” Ryan said. “It is really cool to see what they can do.”

And this year the Olympics conversations aren’t just about competing. Biles dropping out of the team and All Around competitions has led to a bigger conversation around mental health and well being in gymnastics. And in life.

“At the end of the day, it's just gymnastics,” said Dave Ryan, owner of R&R Gymnastics in Millbury. “(Biles is) preserving her life for mental health by maybe not competing that double pike. That she can get paralyzed or seriously injured or something if she blocks in the middle of it. So I completely understand,”

The athletes from R&R Gymnastics say they’re continuing to look up to and learn lessons from Biles.

“I give (Biles) so much credit because she wasn't in the right state of mind to do it,” Pawlak said. “She has done beyond just gymnastics. She's taught me life lessons. She's taught so many little girls how to be so brave and care about your mental health.

“It’s good for (Biles) that she can step back and doesn’t need to always be perfect,” Ryan said.

Some of the gymnasts say they’ve had their own mental blocks too, but training properly and having the right conversations has helped them to overcome their fears.