Few people can relate to the kind of pressure and attention Simone Biles is receiving this year. One of those people is Michael Phelps.
Phelps swam in his first Olympics in 2000 at the age of 15. By 2008, he became the star of the Summer Games in Beijing, winning eight gold medals. The Olympics were built around him in 2012 and 2016 as he was the biggest star of those Olympiads.
Phelps even retired after the 2012 Summer Games before returning for the 2016 Olympics. He knows how much the training, attention and expectations can wear on someone like Biles.
“The Olympics is overwhelming. … we carry a lot of weight on our shoulders. And it’s challenging, especially when we have the lights on us and all of the expectations. It broke my heart,” Phelps said.
Biles withdrew from the gymnastics team event Tuesday because she said she was struggling with mental issues. Phelps can relate to the mental difficulties.
“I think the biggest thing is, we all need to ask for help sometimes too,” Phelps said on NBC. “I can say personally, it was something that very challenging. It was hard for me to ask for help. I felt I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.”
Phelps, 36, won 26 Olympic medals during his swimming career. Biles, 24, has won six medals so far and is competing in her second Olympiad.
