Women’s gymnastics. From the outside, it looks like one of the most beautiful sports to exist. With its near-perfect routines and rotations, who could deny that it is? But the behind-the-scenes aren’t like that. In fact, women’s gymnastics can get downright ugly owing to the pressures of performing. And is there a better story to attest to this than Simone Biles’ pressure to prove herself after withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics due to the “twisties”? Unfortunately, as a fellow gymnast revealed, that pressure is a hallmark of women’s gymnastics.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, 2023 World Championships bronze medalist Fred Richard talked about how his female colleagues have to compete under higher pressure compared to their male counterparts. “They have way more eyes on them, way more people tuning in. Of course, that’s pressure itself,” said Richard about the sad state of affairs. As for men’s gymnastics, “the community on the men’s side is a lot more chill and laid back. Men have built a culture that’s a little different than that where we can go out and have a little more fun and be a little loose with it.”

Personalities like four-time NCAA team champion Ian Gunther have shown the fun side of gymnastics through their social media platforms. As informative as those videos can be, who doesn’t enjoy just watching him and the others just enjoy gymnastics for the love of the sport? However, according to Fred Richard, the situation is quite different for women. Explaining the mindset instilled in girls right from when they start their gymnastics journey, the Michigan Wolverine said, “When they’re younger, this is everything. This is your life, and if you don’t win medals, you’re a failure in every way.”

“That’s just the culture. Much more uptight, much less celebrations, much stricter, a lot riding on it,” the three-time NCAA champion noted. The thing is, Fred Richard isn’t the only one to have spoken up about the brutality of women’s gymnastics. In 1995, sports journalist Joan Ryan published Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, a book documenting elite gymnasts’ training sessions. However, because of just how extreme and abusive they were – often resulting in eating disorders and mental health struggles – Ryan couldn’t get herself to watch the sport anymore.

“Once you know what’s going on, you can’t unknow it,” she told CNN. But Simone Biles made her want to watch the sport again. And it was all because of the stand Biles took and the message she sent after withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics. Ryan said, “For her to step away because of gymnastics, because of what she went through, because of the culture in her sport, it highlights what this sport is all about. The sport was corrosive enough and abusive enough that she really had to step away for her own mental health.”

Seeing how cutthroat women’s gymnastics really is, to watch someone like Simone Biles stand up for herself was eye-opening. Per Joan Ryan, “nobody else had ever in gymnastics stood up and said, ‘Enough. Right now, this is enough, and I need to take care of myself no matter what everybody wants from me on the biggest stage on the planet.’” Despite the crumbling pressure in the US women’s gymnastics environment, Simone Biles has kept her head high and continues to display her elite status week after week.

Following her battle against the “twisties,” the most decorated gymnast in history returned with a bang, securing 4 gold medals at the 2023 World Championships. Now, all eyes are on Biles as she makes her way to Paris. As for Fred Richard, who’ll also be looking to make the team, he said he would be “cheering her on at the Olympics.” Praising her comeback, he said, “I’m really excited [to watch her in Paris]. She’s the most entertaining gymnast, by far, for so many reasons… The way she came back… Most comebacks are good. Hers is dominant, she’s destroying everybody. It’s fun to watch.”

Simone Biles has only one goal in mind

In recent weeks, Biles has stolen the hearts of her fans once again with two back-to-back phenomenal performances. If the 2023 World Championships was the stage where Simone announced her intentions to reach the top of the food chain once again, the Core Hydration Classic and the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships were her strong message to the naysayers who believed her best days were possibly behind her.

In May, at the Core Hydration event, Biles was crowned the winner with an impressive 59.500 All-Around points, but that was only the warm-up. A couple of weeks later, at the national championship, Simone Biles broke the 60-mark barrier for the first time since the 2021 Olympic Team Trials, highlighting her fixation on compensating for how things didn’t go according to plan in Tokyo in 2021.

Now, with Simone Biles’ ninth US Championships title in the bag, fans turn their focus on this year’s team trials, scheduled for June 24 in St Louis, Minnesota. Will The Dome be the place where Biles punches her ticket to Paris? Share your prediction with us in the comments!