Simone Biles' boyfriend said he "felt sick" after the four-time Olympic champion withdrew from the team's event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics last week because of mental health struggles.
Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, arrived in Japan with the concrete possibility of becoming the most successful female Olympian in history but pulled out of four of the five events she was supposed to enter due to mental health concerns.
On July 27, she retired mid-competition during the team's event after recording the lowest score of her Olympic career on the vault in the opening rotation.
Biles left the floor with a trainer, before returning to the floor with her right foot wrapped. She took no further part in the competition and was seen cheering on her teammates.
As he witnessed his girlfriend's ordeal unfolding live on TV, Jonathan Owens knew immediately Biles' problem was not of physical nature.
"I was sick for her, just because I can see her face, I kind of know her facial expressions, I can kind of read her lips and kind of know what was going on and kind of what she was telling her coach," the Houston Texans safety told ESPN on Thursday.
"I kind of already knew what was going on beforehand, so I was just really hoping she was going to get over it and be able to go out there and perform. So I was sick to my stomach because she wasn't able to go out there."
After pulling out of the team's event, Biles withdrew from the all-round competition and individual vault, floor and uneven bars event finals.
Her decision to speak out about mental health issues won her widespread public acclaim, including from the likes of Michael Phelps, Oprah Winfrey and teammate Jordan Chiles.
Predictably, however, there were also plenty who vocally disagreed with her stance and Owens acknowledged dealing with criticism was somewhat uncharted territory for his girlfriend.
"When you're used to everything going right for so long, and all of a sudden you kind of hit a hiccup in your performance, you kind of get down on yourself, kind of lose confidence," he said.
Biles ended her Olympics on a high, claiming bronze in the balance beam. Together with the silver in the team's event, the medal takes her Olympic tally to seven, the joint-most for a U.S. female gymnast along with Shannon Miller.
"I am going back home in one piece, which I was a little bit nervous about. It's not how I wanted it to go, but I think we've opened bigger doors and bigger conversations," she told NBC.
Owens echoed the stance: "I was so proud of her. Just to be able to overcome mentally what was going on."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more
