MOSCOW, June 9, Oleg Bogatov. American gymnast Simone Biles can be considered crippled, since she cannot compete without the special medications prescribed to her, said Olympic champion in speed skating, Russian State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova.
Earlier, the head coach of the Russian artistic gymnastics team, Valentina Rodionenko, told SE that Biles is “no one without pills.” For the 27-year-old American, the Olympics in Paris will be the third in her career. In the summer of 2021, Biles withdrew from the all-around finals, floor exercise, vault and uneven bars competitions at the Tokyo Olympics due to psychological problems.
“One can only sympathize with Biles, because she takes pills not because she wants to achieve a higher athletic result than others. She has been diagnosed with this since childhood (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). But the question is: should athletes with such diagnoses, when such pills give them a serious advantage in preparation? Including from the point of psychological support, the doctors are probably being partly disingenuous, and the girl is crippled, because she cannot go to the start line without the pills,” Zhurova said.
«And other athletes, if they even get a microdose of such a drug, will be immediately disqualified. Here the question, apparently, is more for WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) — is it right that such diagnoses are allowed during development therapeutic exceptions with such frequency of use of these drugs. There is a question — how beneficial is this for her health? — added the agency's interlocutor.
In the balance beam exercise, 4-time Olympic champion Biles won bronze at the Tokyo Games. It was initially reported that Biles was unable to continue in team competition due to medical reasons, but the athlete later stated that she did not have an injury.