Put mental health first': Simone Biles reacts to exit from Olympic team gymnastics final – video
Uses an image for the thumbnail that appears to show Biles being sad. This sets the tone for the rest of the article, because it is usually the second thing the reader will look at after the title.
We’re human beings. Nobody is perfect.”
Phelps has more medals than any other Olympic athlete in history. This accomplishment gives him a unique viewpoint to share which is valuable to the story. Biles also receives a lot of praise for her athletic success, allowing for a bridge of commonality to be built between the two. Emphasizing that he is still human may remind people that they need to lower their extremely high standards for some professional athletes.
Biles pulled out of the rest of the team competition. “I just don’t trust myself as much as I used to,” Biles told reporters in Tokyo. “I’m a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics. I feel like I’m also not having as much fun.” Biles later also withdrew from the individual all-around competition, again saying she wanted to focus on her mental health. USA Gymnastics said it supported her decision “wholeheartedly,” adding in its statement that Biles would be assessed every day.
Quotes from Biles and USA Gymnastics are included which adds some credibility to her article and shows it isn't entirely based on opinion.
Vault was the first event for the US and Russia in the team finals. Biles was supposed to compete an Amanar, a backward flipping vault with 2.5 twists. The Amanar has taken out a lot of knees, but Biles has been competing the vault spectacularly since she was a 16-year-old with braces in 2013.
The writer starts with a fact about what was supposed to occur. She then includes her own interpretation of the trick and how dangerous it is. She goes back and forth between fact and her own personal interpretation throughout the article.
Gymnastics is obviously physically demanding with a high injury rate. But it is extremely difficult psychologically as well. Many of the skills could kill you.
The author starts off by acting like the dangers of gymnastic should be obvious to the readers. This assumes that the readers have prior knowledge of the sport before reading the article which isn't always the case. She inputs her opinion on how dangerous the sport is.
After the first balk, which drew gasps from the crowd, you can see a coach point to the beam to tell her to get back on it.
This anecdote reveals that the pressure facing athletes comes not only from fans watching but also from the way they are treated by their coaches.
Simone Biles and ‘the twisties’: How fear affects the mental health and physical safety of gymnasts
The title indicates that the article will not only be about Biles but also gymnastics in general. Biles name is used at the start because she is a relevant topic at the time and can encourage more clicks on the article, but the rest of the title indicates that there will be much more to the article.
At the 1996
Includes a couple of past examples to show that this isn't something new and that moments like these have been treated the same throughout history.
At the 2016 American Cup, I asked then-national team coordinator Marta Karolyi how she dealt with athletes who felt fear. She blew me off, saying at the elite level, fear is not a problem anymore. This, obviously, was not true. Asked by the New Yorker in 2016 why she wouldn’t try a front handspring double-front vault, called the Produnova, Biles said, “I’m not trying to die.” But many elite gymnasts have described the pressure to never show weakness under Karolyi.
Gives context of how the team has been run in the past and the standards set for the athletes by at least one coach.
I was a competitive gymnast for 10 years, though a mediocre one. I quit when I acquired 7 inches in height and an attitude problem, on top of an extant paralyzing fear and total lack of flexibility. Since then, I’ve followed gymnastics obsessively, and covered it occasionally. And in March, I came down with the twisties myself when I dragged a CNN crew to an open gym class in Dallas and threw sad, little back full twists into a foam pit.
The writer adds her own story into the article. Possibly to give herself more credibility on writing about gymnastics?
"Once I came out here [to compete], I was like, 'No, mental is not there, so I just need to let the girls do it and focus on myself,'"
The article uses a direct quote from Biles but not until late in the article. I think this is somewhat significant because it shows that they received a lot of the information in their story from other sources.
The 24-year-old Biles came to Tokyo as arguably the face of the Games, following the retirement of swimmer Michael Phelps and sprinter Usain Bolt.
Who decided that Biles is "the face of the Games." Is the author including her own opinion to help emphasize how important she feels this topic is?
Jade Carey, who finished ninth in qualifying, will take Biles' place in the all-around. Carey initially did not qualify because she was the third-ranking American, behind Biles and Sunisa Lee. International Gymnastics Federation rules limit countries to two athletes per event in the finals.
Additional context to help readers better understand the overall situation and it's impact on the competition.
"After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health," USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Wednesday. "We wholeheartedly support Simone's decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many."
Direct quotation used to add credibility to the article. The statement comes from USA Gymnastics who is likely knowledgable on Biles' situation.
superstar
Word usage indicates she is more successful and popular than other gymnasts. This could be based on medals accumulated or just be the opinion of the author.
When Biles returned, she took off her bar grips, hugged teammates Sunisa Lee, Grace McCallum and Jordan Chiles, and turned into the team's head cheerleader as the U.S. claimed silver behind the Russian Olympic Committee.
This shows that she still displayed good sportsmanship throughout the competition. We don't know whether she was sad or fine on the inside, but to the public she put on a positive face.
status was left in doubt
Who is in doubt? The writer? ESPN? Someone else?
Here's NPR's transcript of what Biles said at the news conference that followed Tuesday's team event, in which the U.S. women won silver.
NPR provides the transcript so the reader is given quote after quote without any reporter's interpretations of what she is saying or additional context given. The reader will only be given the information that Biles wants them to receive.
Read What Simone Biles Said After Her Withdrawal From The Olympic Final
The title indicates that the article will be focused on the words of Biles' regarding the event rather than someone else's opinions.
'We're human, too': Simone Biles highlights importance of mental health in Olympics withdrawal
NBC chose to include footage cut from one of their shows. Because it is taken from a live show, it won't be as polished as the writing, but has the ability to convey quick reactions from the scene.
Dr. Leela R. Magavi, a psychiatrist who has frequently worked with student-athletes and professional athletes, said the societal expectations from fans, the media and others can make athletes feel as though "every single step that they take will be significantly scrutinized, and this kind of pressure is so severe" that they can have trouble even focusing on their day-to-day activities.
Includes the opinion of an expert on the topic to give more information on the situation and credibility to the claims. Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles are the only high profile athletes who have stepped aside for mental health reasons so most people are unfamiliar with this type of scenario. Adding a doctor's opinion can help them understand it better.
the greatest gymnast of all time
NBC gives Biles this prestigious title which puts her on a platform that is not only under watch from her home country but also from people everywhere. Titles like this can put a lot of importance on an individual when publicized. In this case, the title is an opinion.
As the face of the U.S. Olympic team
This shows that Biles is held to a higher standard than her teammates. As the face of the team, she is expected to be a reliable competitor and be able to win medals for her country. She is more recognizable than some of the other members of Team USA which means she will have more eyes on her throughout the competition. This could lead to more criticism or praise depending on how she performs.
Simone Biles helps open the door to a new culture in sportsBiles is the world champion of one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports in the world. Her withdrawal at the Olympics shows that well-being is more important than competing at any cost.
This video provides additional information to the article by including interviews with other people that are not written about.
she shocked the world by dropping out of the team final and women's individual all-around
ABC News claims that this event "shocked the world" which is quite the generalization. While the olympics does include teams from almost every country int he world, to say that the whole world was shocked would include people who aren't engaged in the olympics as well.
Photograph by Ashley Landis / AP
This picture sets the mood for the article and indicates that Biles is very emotional during this time.
Anyone who has followed the tumult of USA Gymnastics in recent years knows the immense, inhumane pressure that Biles and her teammates have borne. Since the revelations of Larry Nassar’s abuse, athletes say they have struggled to get reassurance, from both the sport’s governing body and the United States Olympic Committee, that their health and well-being is a priority.
These past events are included to give additional context to the situation. It was not directly said by Biles that these had an impact on her decision to step away from competing. The author still chooses to include them, adding an additional narrative to the story.
Biles, who is rightly recognized as the greatest athlete in the sport’s history
This writer includes this opinion on Biles to emphasize the perceived impact of this moment to readers. People who are not familiar with the sport may not know who Biles is, so the author is able to put this narrative in their mind and possibly interest them more in the topic.
Simone Biles and the Weight of Perfection
The title indicates that Simone Biles is held to a standard of perfection. There are people who believe she should perform flawlessly whenever she competes which is nearly impossible.
Simone Biles withdraws from individual all-around gymnastics competition at Tokyo Olympics to focus on mental well-being
Title sticks to the known facts and does not give any opinions.
Elon Musk polled his Twitter followers
By polling his own Twitter followers, he will most likely receive more responses that correspond with his own beliefs. This is an example of convenience sampling because he did not go out of his way to make sure the sample is random.
12 million votes
This gives even more context to indicate the sample size.
millions would have to vote “no” by tonight.
This sentence provides additional context to show that the percentages are separated by millions of people.
52% to 48%
By looking at these percentages alone, it looks like voters are split nearly down the middle on whether or not they want Trump to be reinstated.
slap a coat of paint
Metaphor
"The energy and the atmosphere here is second to none," he said.
This is an opinion from one of the players. It is included because this is a Philadelphia news source and their audience includes these fans.
Bohm smiled and pretended to zip his lips
Zipping his lips is a metaphor that Bohm acted out. It compares closing your mouth with zipping something shut.
Castellanos' catch, a carbon copy of two other big ones he's made during this incredible postseason run, brought an early roar from the crowd of 45,712.
This line is a metaphor that compares similar catches to copies made with carbon paper which produces similar results on a different surface.
Any dollar that someone would spend on Musketeer Gear will obviously go to the cost of making the product, supporting the student-athlete, supporting Xavier University and supporting the future of Musketeer Gear."
Includes facts to give clarity on how the money will be used.
"I recognized that Xavier, with the avid basketball fan base and community we have, could really be poised as a leader in the NIL space," said Breen.
This is speculation. Based on the community, he believes that Xavier could be set up to do well in NIL. He can't guarantee that fans will actually buy the merchandise but he speculates that they will.
Anthony Breen graduated from Xavier in 2014. He studied finance and entrepreneurship, and while he was at Xavier, he started his first company which focused on technology to help children with chronic illnesses. Today he's the founder and CEO of Synergistic, an outcome-focused performance marketing and paid media group headquartered in Cincinnati that was recently recognized by Inc. 5000 as the 12th fastest-growing company in Ohio.
All facts to set the scene about his life and what he will offer to the story.
Raising that median income creates a more enticing environment for recruits considering a school.
This is speculation. Based on the success of certain athletes with NIL and the desire most people have for money, one could speculate that athletes would find certain colleges more enticing than others based on this alone, but we don't know that for sure.
With this shift, the equation for success has changed.
This is a conclusion that the reporter has come to. Based on prior facts about the changes in NIL, he has concluded that a shift is occurring in college athletics.
UConn women's basketball star Paige Bueckers, whose partnerships with Gatorade, Cash App and StockX have her reported earnings nearing seven figures,
Fact used to show effects of NIL deals.