Brian Boitano explains why mental battles are more important than physical battles at the Olympics
Olympic champion Brian Boitano talks about how difficult it is to come back from a bad skate and what the best course of action is from a figure skater’s perspective.
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MILAN — The comparison was immediate, undeniable and haunting. When Ilia Marinin shockingly stumbled on the ice during a long program on Friday night at the Winter Olympics, who didn’t think that Simone Biles was battling a “twist” and withdrew from team gymnastics at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo four and a half years ago, especially as Biles herself was watching in the arena?
Both were remarkable athletes who had high expectations for themselves, their families, their teammates, and their countries. Then they both found themselves dealing with and reeling from the horrors of social media, even as they relied on it to tell their stories, please their sponsors, and bring their fans along.
For those who say athletes like Malinnin, Biles and skier Lindsey Vonn are too focused on promoting themselves, consider that the window in which Olympic athletes can make money is relatively narrow.
The commercial contracts they get are almost always done before the Olympics. Some receive more endorsements or speaking opportunities once the games are over, but for the most part, the sports world moves on without them, in this case moving on to the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and the next baseball season. Olympic athletes are under incredible pressure to earn money before and during the Games. Because you won’t know anything after the tournament.
And for older Olympians from another era who secretly thought today’s athletes should handle pressure the same way they once did, social media has changed everything. Anyone can attach themselves to Marinnin, Biles, or Bong in a post. Everyone, including athletes, can see it the moment they look at their phone.
Reflecting on Tokyo on a 2024 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, Biles said, “The world is going to hate me, and now all I can do is see what they’re saying on Twitter. … I thought I was going to be kicked out of America, because that’s what they say: ‘Don’t come back. If it’s not money, money, bust, don’t come back.'”
Decades ago, negative newspaper reviews of Olympic athletes, even in major newspapers during the height of the Games, were not read until after the Games were over, and could be ignored or not read at all.
On Monday, the Olympics woke up to 21-year-old Marin’s Instagram post.
“On the world’s biggest stages, those who look the strongest may be fighting an invisible battle deep inside. Even the happiest memories can be tainted by the noise. The vile hate online attacks the heart, and no matter how hard you try to stay sane under unbearable pressure, fear lulls you into darkness. As these moments flash before your eyes, it all adds up to the inevitable crash. This is its version of the story.”
He concluded: The reference to “coming February 21, 2026” is believed to be about his performance at Saturday’s Olympic figure skating gala. This will be his first time standing in front of an audience since the final night of the men’s skating, when he fell from the medal range to eighth place due to a poor showing.
The exhibition skate will probably be the most watched Olympic figure skating event in history. But with an Instagram post on Monday, he has already ensured that high-profile conversations about mental health will take center stage in the second week of the competition.
