The woman is a true champion. Without question, she is the greatest female gymnast to date, but more than that, the measure of her greatness is that knowing that she wasn't able to perform up to her standard, she was big enough to step aside and let her teammates shine. To me, that is the true measure of greatness. She is a true champion.

 

 

I think the media created the pressure she has taken on, calling her the GOAT ahead of her performances was too much. She very well could be the GOAT but you refer to that after she is done her events. These Olympics are wonky too with the Covid changes, no fans, no family, athletes stressed about getting Covid while there, they are the worst Olympics ever - WOAT.

 

Unpopular opinion:

• She is the greatest female gymnast of all time
• She is a proven champion and has thrived on many huge stages
• She deserves to be celebrated and has broken out as an American icon beyond the confines of her sport
• She does have a ton of pressure: internal, external, warranted, unwarranted - so does anyone that is a high performer in anything
• She seems to be a great role model, ambassador to her sport, teammate, etc.
• Quitting may have been the right decision for her at the time
• Quitting is not brave: She does not deserve to be berated, degraded, or praised for it, it just is. I do think some criticism is warranted and that the abundant praise, as if quitting is an even better action than winning, is ridiculous
• Quitting does not make her a better champion, it also does not take away her status as the greatest of all time
• Out of our 2020 Olympian Gymnasts, Sunisa Lee deserves to be celebrated for her accomplishments and not overshadowed by this. She went out and got it done even through all the turmoil surrounding her team.

 

For the most part, I agree with Jub.

Stepping aside also means that she is guaranteed to avoid "not getting gold", by not competing. For a top athlete, I'd think stepping away, while difficult, assures a winning percentage that's higher than if they compete and lose. I'm sure my opinion isn't the most popular either, and like Jub, my opinion of this activity doesn't diminish at all her accomplishments in any way.

 

I can't begin to imagine competing at this level.
Out of the whole world of 7 BILLION people you are the ONE!!!
Be it the Olympics, The Masters, The US Tennis Open, F1 Or Indy.
There will be one winner. Go look at the press and find a way to focus on the task at hand.

nope I haven't got a clue.

 

As she publicly said at 19 she was fearless. Now she's older and appreciates the risks more; that plus all the media hype and pressure just became too much. Even superstars can be human.

 

I love it when somebody is just "human". It makes me feel better about myself.

 

She is the greatest, but media pressure can affect anyone no matter how great.

I am wondering if she had a physical issue to some degree. She seemed to have balance issues in many of her routines, that goes along with getting older.

 

She did say that ongoing mental anguish caused by being molested by Larry Nassar was at least part of the reason she bowed out.