Mental well-being has become as much a focus as strength and conditioning for elite athletes, who long battled the weight of expectations, anxiety and fear of failure in silence for fear of seeming weak
Superstar gymnast Simone Biles says the soaring physical skills that have her headed to a third Olympics are grounded in a rigorous attention to mental health, long a taboo topic in elite sport.
"Seeing my therapist every Thursday, it's kind of religious for me," Biles said shortly after she officially punched her ticket to the Paris Games with an all-around victory at the US trials. "That's why I'm here today."