IT’S A BAD OLYMPIC YEAR FOR AMERICA: US women’s gymnastics team claims silver in team final after Simone Biles withdraws at Tokyo Olympics.

I’m hearing people say that her problem is mental, and it’s plausible. As Arnold once said, the mind generally fails before the body. I used to be on the same schedule as a female competitive powerlifter, who was quite serious and successful — she could lift nearly as much as me, despite only weighing like 150 lbs. We usually wound up next to each other in the racks. We were both squatting, and she missed her lift, the only time I ever saw her do that. 60 seconds or so later, I started my next set — and missed my lift, the only time I’ve ever done that. It was purely psychological: Seeing her do that put it in my mind. It was then that I realized that sports psychologists probably do earn their money . . . .

UPDATE: More: “The Olympics broadcast said it was not injury related, but instead a ‘mental health issue.’ USA Gymnastics said Biles dropped out over a ‘medical issue.'” The stress of being expected to perform at a superhuman level, even as the Olympic Committee makes special rules changes to disadvantage you, must be enormous.