Phelps' documentary on the mental health challenges Olympians face, released one year ago this week, couldn't be more timely in wake of Biles' pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics' gymnastics competition, citing her mental health. In the documentary clip posted Friday, Phelps says: "We're human. I don't think I have to say anything else. We're human beings just like everybody else. Yeah, I had won a sh*t ton of medals. I had a great career. It doesn't matter. I wasn't happy with who I was. I thought of myself as just a swimmer and not a human being. Not a person. No self-love. No self-confidence." Phelps spoke specifically about Biles with NBC's Mike Tirico earlier this week, saying her withdrawal "broke my heart." “We need someone who we can trust,” Phelps told Tirico. “Somebody that can let us be ourselves and listen," says Phelps. "Allow us to become vulnerable, somebody who’s not going to try and fix us. You know, we carry a lot of things, a lot of weight on our shoulders. And it’s challenging, especially when we have the lights on us and all of these expectations that are being thrown on top of us. So, it broke my heart.”
TOPICS: Simone Biles, HBO, The Weight of Gold, Michael Phelps, Documentaries, Mental Health