China's Beautiful Jumping Athlete Follows Simone Biles' Footsteps To Voice Mental Health Issues

JAKARTA - China's four-time Olympic gold-medal diver, Shi Tingmao, is following in the footsteps of American gymnastics star Simone Biles, who spoke about the mental health of athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, by revealing her struggles with depression.

Shi recently won the Tokyo gold medal in the women's 3m and is in tears after her performance at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, while revealing that she had considered retiring due to her slump last year.

"I have to really take care of my mental state and make sure I don't get depressed," Shi said at a post-competition news conference, in unusual open comments for Chinese athletes who generally don't talk much. , August 3rd.

It's another gold for Shi Tingmao of #CHN in the women's 3m springboard!#Gold Rio 2016#Gold Tokyo 2020#StrongerTogether | #Tokyo2020 | @fina1908 | #Diving pic.twitter.com/Hyd4k1FQ7O

— Olympics (@Olympics) August 1, 2021

"I've consulted a psychiatrist or psychologist who helped a little bit with some of the mental stress of being a competitive diver, dealing with depression and stuff like that."

Shi admits that he hit rock bottom, which made him think about giving up on pursuing a career in sports, but added that "I really like diving and I realized there was no way I could give up."

"So getting to this point today wasn't easy."

Shi, who also won two gold medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, revealed the internal conflict he had to deal with.

"There are two sides to me in terms of mental state, I really struggle with each other," he said.

"Part of me says 'You're a gold medalist, you can rest, you can quit'. Another part of me says 'you can't give up, you love diving'."

Shi said he had not seen his family for 18 months due to his dedication to the practice.

"I'm sure my family is worried about me, but I also hope that, through the screen, when we meet, I can talk to my family and say they don't have to worry, everything is fine," she said.

Jumper Billes came to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as one of the standout stars, but she has pulled out of a series of events and admits she needs to take care of her mental health.

It comes weeks after other top world athletes, including Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka took a break after she revealed she was depressed.