Elena Mukhina, The Tagic Gymnast Who Could Not Say ‘No’
Tragically, as she attempted the Thomas Salto, Elena fell onto her chin, crushing her cervical vertabra, and was left permanently paralysed.
When she hit the floor, Elena said the first thought that came to her mind was ‘Thank God, I won’t be going to the Olympics.’ This paints a tragic picture of how trapped Elena felt to continue completing.
In the aftermath of the terrible accident, The Soviet Union greatly played down the extent of the gymnast injury as they did not want it to paint a bad picture of their programme or coaches.
The cover-up went as far as to withhold information from the press as to how Elena obtained the injury and at one point even they even tried to put the blame on Elena herself.
‘The fans had been trained to believe in athletes’ heroism — athletes with fractures return to the soccer field and those with concussions return to the ice rink.
Why? Elena later said in her interview Ogoniok.
The former athlete passed away in 2006 at age 46 due to complications related to her quadriplegia.
Sadly, even after all these years, Elena’s story is not that different from those of modern gymnasts and that’s why, when Olympic champion Simone Biles pulled out of Tokyo 2020, it sent shockwaves around the world.
The expectation placed upon Simone as she headed to Tokyo was immense with her even being labelled ‘the greatest gymnast of all time.’
Thousands watched from around the world as the 24-year-old lost her bearings in the middle of a vault, grimacing as she shakily landed on her feet.
After this, Simone told her teammates that she was pulling out of the event.
Similar to how Elena must have felt all those years before, Simone knew that continuing to compete had the potential to lead to a serious injury, but thankfully she had the strength and the opportunity to say enough is enough.
As Simone’s departure from the Olympics was almost unheard of, many assumed that she had obtained a physical injury, but the athlete later shared that her decision was one that was based on mental health.
Assessing the risks, she understood that if she did not have a clear head while competing, there was a chance she might suffer an injury she would not come back from.
‘We have to protect our body and our mind… It just sucks when you’re fighting with your own head,’ she said.
Thankfully, Simone has received great support in the aftermath of her withdrawal and has succeeded in opening up a conversation in a sport that is strewn with a history of life-altering or life-ending injuries.
With stories like Elena’s taken into consideration, Simone’s refusal to continue competing when she knew it was not right, may very well have been the most important decision of her life.
