In recent history, some of the most inventive, gorgeous, and cleanly-executed routines have come from a country not normally on the radar for artistic gymnastics.
This year, the Belgian women went a step beyond the beauty to qualify a full team to the Olympic Games, a first since their Olympic debut in 1948. They’ve sent individuals to ten of the Games that followed, but the timing was never quite right for a full team until this year, when a fantastic performance at the test event finally helped them reach the status as one of the best teams on earth.
Similar to France, the Belgians came into the Olympic Games with lower difficulty compared to many of the big team final contenders, and they would’ve needed to rely on some falls from more experienced teams if they wanted to slip in. They were also dealing with the shocking blow that came with the loss of first-year senior and standout all-arounder Axelle Klinckaert just three weeks before the Games.
Klinckaert, who was instrumental in the team qualifying at the test event, injured her knee while training, with her recovery time not allowing her to get back to the gym until the week her team would compete. Without her, the team lost a couple of points from her brand-new DTY on vault and her difficult work on beam and floor. Rune Hermans stepped in as a fabulous replacement, but the loss of Klinckaert’s difficulty and prior international success was a blow to the women.
Belgium was the only team forced to deal with seeing a gymnast named to the team only to be sidelined by injury, but they handled it as well as could be expected, having experienced something similar when Nina Derwael was injured in the weeks leading up to the test event. The test event was actually a more important competition for the Belgians, who missed out on qualifying a full team to the London Games four years earlier, where they finished just a point shy of making it. This year, they were coming in as favorites for a spot, but losing a gymnast who adds crucial value to a team can really hurt a team mentally in addition to decreasing their overall potential.
I wrote in-depth about how the Belgians ended up performing at the test event without Derwael, which was much better than anyone could have imagined. If anything, the last-minute loss made them stronger as a team, giving them reason to come together to fight even harder for the Olympic spot. The girls dedicated their victorious performance to Derwael, to Lisa Verschueren (who was forced to retire months before the Games due to a heart condition), and to their other teammates who didn’t get to compete, and it was one of the most beautiful gestures of respect and sportsmanship I’ve seen in the sport.
So coming into the Olympic Games, this time with Derwael but without Klinckaert, I knew the team would hold it together in a tough situation, and that’s exactly what they did. Like France, they weren’t favorites to make the team final and due to some lower difficulty on vault and floor in particular, they just didn’t have the numbers to keep up with the more advanced programs. That will come with time. This year was all about getting to the Games, period, and then in the future they’ll be able to launch into the stratosphere to join other teams in the fight for the final.
Pretty much everything went according to plan in qualifications, a few small errors aside. Beginning on bars in the very first subdivision wasn’t easy, but they made it through counting three excellent routines from Hermans in the leadoff spot, Derwael, and Laura Waem. Derwael’s routine was breathtaking, and I say this as an admitted huge fan of her work there but also as someone who was worried if she’d hit. Since her injury, she’s been struggling on bars in competition, though posted a practice routine on Instagram that was jaw-droppingly good. If she hit like that at the Games, she’d be in the mix for the final, and that’s exactly what she did.
Unfortunately, even with her brilliance on bars, she missed the final by only a couple of tenths due to the insane depth on this event. I do think the bars judging was quite stingy in the earlier subdivisions, and based on some E scores that happened later on, I think Derwael would have been in the final if Belgium had the luck of the draw to end up in the fourth or fifth subdivisions. But at the same time, this was the most difficult final to make, with eight gymnasts earning scores of 15.5 or higher in the months leading up to the Games. Derwael, only 16, got so close, but in the end the judges’ preferences went with more established seniors who got the benefit of the doubt despite mistakes while Derwael’s own routine was judged relatively harshly.
The Belgians were lovely on beam, hitting all four routines again with only minor mistakes, and then even with the lower difficulty on floor, the team had standout routines thanks to their choreography and performance value. Score-wise, they may have placed 11th on this event, but I don’t think any other country had four back-to-back sets that pleased the crowd as much as the Belgians did (okay, MAYBE the Brazilians made that happen as well, but that’s a given!).
Vault was the one time we saw a mistake. After three lovely Yurchenko fulls, from Gaelle Mys (who got great height, finished her twist early, and flared her arms on the landing in a way that would’ve gotten her a 9.95 in NCAA), Derwael, and Senna Deriks (who got some HUGE air!), Hermans went for her recently-upgraded Yurchenko 1½. Sadly, she stumbled back and had to put her hands down on the landing, but I hope it comforts her a bit to know that they weren’t going to make the team final whether she hit or not.
Had she hit the vault, she likely could’ve been one of the last to qualify into the all-around final, so that has to sting a little bit and she definitely looked upset with herself, but ultimately it didn’t affect the team qualifying or not qualifying into the team final, and at the end of the day, that’s the most important. Her teammates were great at giving her some comforting words and hugs, and she was smiling again before they left the arena, so if anything hopefully this will motivate Hermans to come back stronger next year. At the end of the day, she took a risk with a new skill and it didn’t work out, which has happened to thousands of gymnasts before her and will happen to thousands in the future.
Derwael did make it to the all-around final, qualifying in 21st with a 56.532 for her excellent work that day. Beginning on floor with beautiful work there and hitting a superb Yurchenko full, Derwael went on to nail a near-perfect bars set, getting the second-best score of the day on the event with a 15.3, a score that would have gotten her into the bars final had she received it in qualifications.
Going into beam in the final rotation was tough, especially as she had to finish up her routines with the Americans on floor in front of a wild, screaming crowd. That situation would rattle even the most experienced competitors, and she unfortunately had a fall on what was an otherwise brilliant beam set. Without the fall, she would have reached the top ten, but even so she earned a 56.299 in what was a historic performance for the Belgian women. Finishing 19th was the highest ranking in her country’s all-around history, with Aagje Vanwalleghem’s 23rd-place finish in Athens the closest.
With Mys a veteran on the team completing her third Olympic Games (she flew solo in 2008 and 2012), it’s likely we’ll see her retire, though nothing’s official yet. But the rest of the gymnasts on this team are all so young (in addition to 16-year-old Derwael and 17-year-old Hermans, the team boasted the youngest gymnast of the Games with 15-year-old Deriks, who doesn’t turn 16 until December 30!), it’s likely most will stick around for years to come. The team laid the foundation in Rio, but this current generation of talent will be joined by even more up-and-comers which could create a huge boom and great depth going forward.
This may have been Belgium’s first team competition at the Olympics in 68 years, but don’t expect a period of equal length to follow before their next appearance. This program is absolutely on the rise, and I’m excited to see them grow in the near future. As Mys said on Instagram, “These little Belgians are still growing, and in 2020 they will be bigger, better, and greater!”
Article by Lauren Hopkins
The Gymternet 
It would have been cool if Derwael had made bars because then all 12 teams there would have had a representative in EFs, and when’s the last time that’s happened?
I was so sad about Axelle, she’s one of my favorite new seniors and I want all the good things for her. Did they ever say how she got injured? I remember watching the friendly where she pulled out a ton of big upgrades and thinking that some of those looked questionable, & that they were trying to add too much difficulty too quickly. I’m glad she wasn’t seriously injured even if it’s heartbreaking to miss the Olympics, she has so much potential.
LikeLike
1st sorry , from last 15days iam not check my mail box because my health is not well , and now I am 99% good health condition ,ok back to the point ur Belgium make,,, history article good full details it’s good , and thank u 4 a very good post c u bye 👏
LikeLike
The bars judging was so crazy during this olympics… In the first two subdivision the judging looked similar to what it has the entire quad and then they started busting out 15.6s-15.9s out of nowhere. If this wasn’t these olympics scoring Mustafina and Kocian would only be getting around a 15.4-15.6 for their hit routines. I truly think that Nina Derwael and Fan Yilin got snubbed from finals due to earlier subdivisions, although I don’t understand Shang getting in over the two, I mean she was great but I thought Fan Yilin and Nina Derwael were better. Jessica Lopez got into the final as a consolation prize for her entire career, she’s gotten so close so many times and although I’m extremely happy for her, I again, think that both Fan and Nina outperformed her.
LikeLike
Agree totally…especially about Jessica and Songsong. =/ I definitely think Nina and Yilin should have been in over the two of them.
LikeLike
Is anyone here gonna comment on Simone Biles f* DOPING?
LikeLike
Well, no, because since she wasn’t doping, there’s no issue?
LikeLike
Right, because taking ADHD medication secretly is not doping, right? And it being covered by corrupt WADA does NOT make it any less terrible. Give Ferrari her medal! These drugs are banned for a reason! If you need them for medical reasons, then sorry, you shouldn’t compete in gymnastics, it’s that simple. In any case, her image has already been irreversible scratched, everybody now knows she isn’t that great after all.
LikeLike
It’s not secretly if WADA has approved it and dozens of other gymnasts have also had medications approved/exempted. Simone’s medical condition has been on file since she was a child, long before she entered the world of elite gymnastics. You’re super ableist and kind of a ridiculous person for suggesting that gymnasts with mental/physical conditions shouldn’t be allowed to do sports, lol. I hope someone in your life tries to limit you from doing something because of something you can’t control. 🙂
LikeLike
Simone isn’t the first elite athlete to use medication for ADHD. And it’s on her medical record since she was a child, so it’s not like she made up having ADHD. If anything, her performance would probably be worse if she was using medication without ADHD because she’d be in a state of mania rather than refined focus. And saying that athletes who have disorders that require the need of certain medication shouldn’t be allowed to compete is ridiculous and is too stupid to merit an intelligent comment. You’re obviously biased, and I’m not saying that just because you put your name as Naliya Mustafina.
LikeLike
Focus and precision are everything in gymnastics and the best gymnast ever suffers from ADHD.
Sounds pretty comparable to all the greatest cyclists being asthmatic…
I really like Simone Biles but you cannot deny that from now on her performances will be surounded by suspicions:
1 – does she really suffer from ADHD?
2 – to what extent does her medication enhance her performances? And how fair is it for her competitors who do not benefit from such a chemical help?
LikeLike
TUE misuse is absolutely an issue in a lot of sports, particularly endurance ones like you said. Asthma is a big one, there have been plenty of allegations against various countries in different sports that coaches will help their athletes get doctors to diagnose them with asthma so they can legally use inhalers.
But I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.
LikeLike
Her ADHD medication goes back a decade before she started elite, so yeah, I guess she was planning this since she was like five years old, lmao. You’re a genius. If you have ADHD and take Ritalin, the side effects are OPPOSITE of what they are for people who don’t have the condition yet take medication. Those with ADHD are made to focus a bit better, whereas those without it get super focused to the point of being manic. I’ve been around people who abuse Ritalin. I used to take it to study. Simone exhibits exactly zero of the behavior/personality defects that come with chronic Ritalin abuse.
LikeLike
Hi Lauren,
Your answer gave me new information that I did not have. Thank you. Did it have to be that despising though?
I really enjoy reading your blog and did not intend to offense anyone. My bad if I did so.so.
LikeLike
What Lauren provides as an explanation doesn’t really hold. She says that if Simone would have taken Ritalin for a long time without having ADHD she would have become manic, a total nervous wreck, so because she didn’t become a total nervous wreck we can conclude that she actually has ADHD. Well,not quite the truth. I looked at what’s been published and found out that even in people with ADHD long term use is actually conducive to very serious side effects: central nervous system damage, cardiovascular damage, hypertension, compulsive behaviours and even movement disorders in some individuals. So probably she doesn’t take Ritalin day in day out because that would have destroyed her. So why does she take it and does she really have ADHD?
My ‘theory”: 5 years old Simone, very traumatised from all that’s going on in her family acts out, and she is all over the place; Her caregivers too old to keep up with her and not able to channel her energy ask for help. With her history she is more likely to have CPTSD ( see ” The Body Keeps the Score”) than ADHD but they want to ‘manage’ her so an ADHD diagnosis comes in handy and Ritalin brings temporary peace.
What could have followed is a pretty normal scenario for a child diagnosed with ADHD: after initial improvement, in about 18 months of use the child looks not very well, kind a lifeless and actually drugged. Parents get scared, stop the Ritalin, and look into other therapies or just let him cope as best as he can. (Very few exception from this scenario with someone taking Ritalin into adulthood and that’s certainly not conducive to high performance in anything.)
If Simone really had ADHD as a child, doing gymnastics would have improved her chances of healing tremendously. 20 min of intense training are conducive to so much release of dopamine in the brain that would equate the effects of a regular dose of Ritalin. Psychologists know that very well and there are groups who advocate the introduction in the school system of this easy modification which would give those with ADHD chances to better cope without the use of Ritalin. The intense training over the years would have benefited her CPTSD also, along with any other psychological interventions.
Later in the game someone comes and looks into Simone’s file and discovers the early diagnosis and sees opportunity there. Not to constantly drug her which would have been highly detrimental, but to strategically administer Ritalin maybe prior to competitions or whenever a threshold/a limitation needs to be breached into her training. All gymnasts know about these very hard moments when they feel they can’t do any better than what they are actually doing. Generally it takes a great coach to take you out of those, or maybe a little bit of stimulation will do that too. Some could argue that she might truly need Ritalin from time to time because she gets scattered and so on,but that’s quite unlikely; 20 min. of training would have provided her with the same benefit. When you look at the videos posted on youtube and compare Simone’s and Aly’s reaction after a hard day of training. Aly just wants to crush while Simone is very giddy, keeps talking, laughing,and annoying Aly very much, Is Simone just that more energetic than anyone else in the world that a whole day of training doesn’t manage to settle her down, or is there a little bit of a manic reaction induced by stimulation?? Even strong and energetic man need to rest, When the body’s physiology is not interfered with, after a long day of training the message the body gives is very clear: settle down and go into muscle repair mode.
When you try to put the pieces together, it does look like cheating, cheating with papers in order but nonetheless cheating.
LikeLike
^Uh, that is all crazy and completely speculative. In particular your theories that anyone who takes medication long-term will suffer damage and that gymnastics training would “cure” anyone of ADHD. But I know I can’t dissuade you from your conspiracy theories, so enjoy your tinfoil hat!
LikeLike
^^ I think I got dumber from reading that. WTF?
LikeLike
Regarding Simone’s doping or not doping:
There are few issues here:
1. the diagnostic itself: there are no biological markers based on which the diagnosis of ADHD can be made, the fact that she actually had and still has ADHD cannot be proven objectively through blood tests, or other kind of medical tests. All diagnosis is based on behaviour interpretation, hence extremely subjective. (How on earth would you behaviourally asses hyperactivity in a person who through the very nature of their occupation has to move incessantly?) There is an unending discussion in medical journals about the issues arising from the ‘subjectivity’ of this ‘illness’, and the fact that it is many times over-diagnosed. Basically she has no objective proof that she had/has ADHD, and this is a diagnosis that is very easy to fake. All you need is the complicity of a few doctors. ( I suggest you search medical journals about ADHD diagnosis.)
2. Even though she might have had ADHD as a child, being a gymnast would have given her a great chance at overcoming it as she grew into adulthood.
Aside the possibility of fake diagnosis, is important to note that most children diagnosed with ADHD outgrow their condition and don’t receive medication into adulthood. Most parents in the case of a condition that lasts so long would have looked in biomedical approaches for healing or anything else beside Ritalin for help. Actually, the fact that Simone is a gymnast would have massively helped her in overcoming this ‘illness’ because there are chemicals that are released in the brain during high intensity training that act in a similar way to ADHD medication. High intensity training is considered therapeutic for ADHD. Nadia was said to have been hyperactive as a a child which has prompted her parents to enrol her in gymnastics. However, she never took any drugs and became probably the gymnast with the most focused mind, a fact that even her most acerbic detractors like Nelli Kim had to acknowledge.
It is very probable that if Simone had ADHD as a child ( more likely misdiagnosed based on her high level of energy) that ‘condition’ would have subsided simply as a consequence of the intensity of her training. Which leaves us with the question and suspicion that someone in her entourage took note of her ‘diagnosis’ and decided that this is an opportunity they could ride: for her to receive Ritalin.
3. Ritalin IS A PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUG no matter what the TV approved doctors say, otherwise it won’t be on WADA list. The NBC doctor suggested that it’s effect on non-ADHD people is placebo. You (Lauren) suggest that you’ve been around non-ADHD people who abused Ritalin and they became manic. The question is really what it does to non-ADHD people who train intensively, smthg your mates probably didn’t do.
In the gymnastic world, of true gymnastics fans, those who loved and watched gymnastics for decades, many people didn’t like the direction US takes gymnastics nowadays but at least they respected Simone as a person for her pleasant character, and they acknowledged her power. It is actually depressing to know that either her power or her focus was fake.
Gymnastics was made popular by Nadia as the art/sport of the perfect alignment of mind, body, and spirit. People gasped in amazement because they felt deep inside what that little child was demonstrating. It inspired many children to find perfection in themselves and to reach the same level of alignment.
During the last few months we witnessed one of the craziest media campaign ever dedicated to create the myth of Simone Biles, the absolute gymnast , probably under the assumption that media can create everything, like they supposedly created Nadia 40 years ago. The things is nobody who fell in love with her ever felt cheated, nobody felt they have been ‘sold’ something that was not genuine.
Nadia transcended the sport of gymnastics and became a symbol in the public mind not because of her dominance, not because she revolutionised gymnastics, and certainly not because of all the media hype with its political undertones. She inspired so many people because she showed what an alignment between mind, body and soul looks like, pure meditation in motion. For me she set the standard for what an archetypal gymnast should be. For Russians the standard was probably acrobatic ballerinas, beautiful even though neurotic or narcissistic. Simone even without doping accusations clearly didn’t fit the bill on either of these standards but at least she had her honesty and what people believed was her genuine superiority at the level of muscular power and people warmed up to her.
Frankly, I don’t care that WADA approved her ‘medication’ and I don’t care that Simone will keep her medals. ( I wonder though how the other gymnasts feel after the many years they have been preached about what a phenomenon of nature Biles is? The miracle Biles as they called it, really??) The bottom line is at some junction (either mind or body power) things were not quite right. It doesn’t take away all her merits but taking performance enhancing drugs (either at mental level or at physical level, whichever way you want to read it) for years and years with the cover of a very very questionable medical diagnosis, it certainly does looks a little bit too engineered for me. Simone and those who advised her have something to look at inside their own conscience.
LikeLike
If Ritalin were such a wonder drug performance enhancer, why wouldn’t the US have schemed to have all their athletes take it? Why just Simone?
Would you not be in favor of athletes taking any medication with mental side effects that help them function as normal human beings? If someone suffered from depression, should they go without their medication and be miserable so that they can be “pure” in your eyes?
LikeLike
Just like Simone went down, the Williams brothers will go down even further, when it will finally be shown that they were born male.
LikeLike
Well if I didn’t think you were a troll before…
LikeLike
Obviously, everyone who needs medication should take it, whether they get my approval or not.. But this is definitely not the case here. I have just re-read several medical articles about all that is going wrong in the brain of a person who has ADHD (beyond the dopamine re-uptake phenomenon addressed by Ritalin). The thing is all that’s going wrong in a truly ADHD afflicted brain should go very very well exceptionally well in the brain of a gymnast. Read for future entertainment Dan Millman’s (former US gymnast) beautiful book ‘Way of the Peaceful Warrior’ for an astonishing account of what’s going on in the mind, awareness of a gymnast who gives a brilliant performance. Find info about the incredible level of coordination and spacial awareness needed just for a simple transition from low bar to high bar . And then read about what actually is required to perform on the beam..then read the medical articles about the ADHD brain. I am not going to summarise all that info here. Those who really want to know the truth will find it. My conclusion is very simple ADHD is incompatible with high performance in gymnastics. A true ADHD diagnosis will prevent anyone with or without Ritalin to succeed in gymnastics. They will miss many many other qualities that are needed in a gymnast. I can’t believe I bought into this scam even for one second. To say the least it is very very unlikely for Simone Biles to have an ongoing ADHD condition. She might not even had one as a child. A CPTSD diagnosis is much more likely with her family history. (contradict me about that only after you read “The Body Keeps the Score”). Please don’t come with arguments about how she is that exceptional to the point where all relevant biological information does not apply to her. The most probable scenario is that an earlier misdiagnosis has been taken advantage of. And I will refrain from making any more comments here about Simone Biles or US gymnastics or WADA, literally no more comments.
LikeLike
Did you actually put what I said through a search machine? Did you actually check the info about the effect of intense training on brain chemistry? Did you ever actually read a psychology book?
Citation: A recent study showed that MPH (Ritalin) is not a WEAK STIMULANT, AS HAD BEEN THOUGHT, BUT IS A MORE POTENT TRANSPORTER INHIBITOR THAN COCAINE. A TYPICAL DOSE GIVEN TO CHILDREN- 0.5MG/KG-BLOCKED 70 PERCENT OF DOPAMINE TRANSPORTERS, WHILE COCAINE BLOCKS ONLY 50 PERCENTS. PEOPLE WHO TOOK MPH DISPLAYED HIGH LEVELS OF EXTRACELLULAR DOPAMINE JUST AS PEOPLE USING COCAINE DID. (in Journal of Neuroscience, 2001, 21:RC121:1-5, “Therapeutic Doses of Oral Methylphenidate significantly increases Extracellular Dopamine in the Human Brain”. The article goes to show that the only difference between MPH and cocaine is regarding the speed of dopamine increase in the brain: a matter of seconds for cocaine about an hour for Ritalin, which explains why MPH is not as addictive as cocaine. However, if constantly administered, the side effects are serious. I cited this comparison between MPH and cocaine, because people are more familiar with the long term effects of cocaine use.
About some other questionable effects of Ritalin:
“According to the authors, the results of this study draw attention to concerns that stimulant medications increase the risk of sudden unexplained death in children and adolescents”. (study published on National Institute of Mental Health website, Gould, M.S., Walsh, T., Munfakh, J.L., Kleinman, M., Duan, N., Olfson, M., Greenhill, L, and Cooper, T. Sudden death and use of stimulant medications in youth. American Journal of Psychiatry AIA:1-10, 2009. There are other studies who talk about the effects of Ritalin on cardiovascular health which conclude that children who are on long term Ritalin use should be closely monitored.
Regarding the impact of intense training on brain chemistry, have you ever heard of the ‘runner’s high?
“Norepinephrine secretion, dopamine, and serotonin have all been shown to help to reduce depression,” “These neurotransmitters also tend to be released and produced in higher concentrations during exercise, so people think that it may be some of these other biochemical substances, aside from the endorphins, that might be responsible for this effect. The curative effects of high intensity training for ADHD people is based on this extra release of dopamine.
Also, look into this:John J. Ratey, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Research Synthesizer, Speaker, and best selling Author. He has published over 60 peer reviewed articles, and 7 Books, including “A Users Guide to the Brain,” and the groundbreaking ADD-ADHD “Driven to Distraction” series with Ned Hallowell, MD. With his latest book, “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” (http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutio…) Dr. Ratey has embarked on a world-wide mission to re-engineer schools, corporations, and individual lifestyle practices by incorporating exercise to achieve peak performance and optimum mental health. Consistently named one of the Best Doctors in America by his peers, Dr. Ratey serves as Reebok’s Ambassador for Active Kids, is an Advisor to the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness Activity and Sport, and is an Adjunct Professor at Taiwan National Sports University. Dr. Ratey maintains a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is currently working on a book examining our genetic roots and the influence on our psychology in a modern world, to be published by Little Brown in 2013. More information http://www.johnratey.com
THIS WAS ABOUT HEALING ADHD THROUGH EXERCISE
for info about how the brain of an ADHD child works again look for info on the website of the National Health Institute, there is evidence about how ADHD actually impairs motor activity, ADHD children have high difficulty with sensory processing which is crucial for spatial awareness and movement coordination, etc. THERE IS PLENTY OF INFO, DO YOUR HOMEWORK
LikeLike
I POSTED EARLIER A RESPONSE WITH ALL THE REFERENCES TO SCIENTIFIC PAPERS FOR THE AFFIRMATIONS I’VE MADE. SOMEHOW IT WAS NOT POSTED SO I WILL DO IT AGAIN;
Regarding the health impact of long term Ritalin use in ADHD people:
” A recent study showed that MPH (Ritalin) is not a weak stimulant as had been thought, but is a a more potent transporter inhibitor than cocaine. A typical dose given to children-0.5mg/kg-blocked 70 percent of dopamine transporters, while cocaine blocks only 50 percent. People who took MPH displayed high levels of extra cellular dopamine-just as people using cocaine did. in The Journal Neuroscience, 2001, 21 RC 121 ;1 5. The article goes on to explain that the difference between cocaine and MDH absorption speed: (oral MDH acts in about an hour, while inhaled cocaine acts in seconds) it is what accounts for the fact that cocaine is more addictive than MPH. However, they are both strong stimulant and their long term usage is bound to have important consequences for someone’s health.
Another article about the detrimental effect of Ritalin:
Suden death in childhood and Ritalin:
Madelyn Gould, Ph.D., and colleagues at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute identified 564 children and adolescents who had died suddenly for unexplained reasons. These youth had no known structural heart defects or other co-existing physical disorders known or suspected to be associated with sudden death. … The results revealed that stimulants were used by 10 of the young people whose deaths were unexplained and by 2 who died in crashes. (The stimulant found in each case was methylphenidate [Ritalin]. This study examined deaths that occurred between 1985 and 1996, before mixed amphetamine preparations [Adderall] became commonly used).According to the authors, the results of this study draw attention to concerns that stimulant medications increase the risk of sudden unexplained death in children and adolescents.
Other articles speak about the impact of long term Ritalin use upon cardiovascular health and conclude that children taking Ritalin should be closely monitored.
Regarding my affirmation about the impact of exercising upon ADHD please look at:
John J. Ratey, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Research Synthesizer, Speaker, and best selling Author. He has published over 60 peer reviewed articles, and 7 Books, including “A Users Guide to the Brain,” and the groundbreaking ADD-ADHD “Driven to Distraction” series with Ned Hallowell, MD. With his latest book, “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” (http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutio…) Dr. Ratey has embarked on a world-wide mission to re-engineer schools, corporations, and individual lifestyle practices by incorporating exercise to achieve peak performance and optimum mental health. Consistently named one of the Best Doctors in America by his peers, Dr. Ratey serves as Reebok’s Ambassador for Active Kids, is an Advisor to the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness Activity and Sport, and is an Adjunct Professor at Taiwan National Sports University. Dr. Ratey maintains a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is currently working on a book examining our genetic roots and the influence on our psychology in a modern world, to be published by Little Brown in 2013. More information http://www.johnratey.com
Regarding the ADHD brain:, and how ADHD impairs motor activity, and sensory input integration, which are all essential for spatial awareness and movement coordination which are in turn crucial for any practising gymnast you can find info on NIMH website, and many other places.
I hope this will post.
LikeLike
I POSTED EARLIER A RESPONSE WITH ALL THE REFERENCES TO SCIENTIFIC PAPERS FOR THE AFFIRMATIONS I’VE MADE. SOMEHOW IT WAS NOT POSTED SO I WILL DO IT AGAIN;
Regarding the health impact of long term Ritalin use in ADHD people:
” A recent study showed that MPH (Ritalin) is not a weak stimulant as had been thought, but is a a more potent transporter inhibitor than cocaine. A typical dose given to children-0.5mg/kg-blocked 70 percent of dopamine transporters, while cocaine blocks only 50 percent. People who took MPH displayed high levels of extra cellular dopamine-just as people using cocaine did. in The Journal Neuroscience, 2001, 21 RC 121 ;1 5. The article goes on to explain that the difference between cocaine and MDH absorption speed: (oral MDH acts in about an hour, while inhaled cocaine acts in seconds) it is what accounts for the fact that cocaine is more addictive than MPH. However, they are both strong stimulant and their long term usage is bound to have important consequences for someone’s health.
Another article about the detrimental effect of Ritalin:
Suden death in childhood and Ritalin:
Madelyn Gould, Ph.D., and colleagues at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute identified 564 children and adolescents who had died suddenly for unexplained reasons. These youth had no known structural heart defects or other co-existing physical disorders known or suspected to be associated with sudden death. … The results revealed that stimulants were used by 10 of the young people whose deaths were unexplained and by 2 who died in crashes. (The stimulant found in each case was methylphenidate [Ritalin]. This study examined deaths that occurred between 1985 and 1996, before mixed amphetamine preparations [Adderall] became commonly used).According to the authors, the results of this study draw attention to concerns that stimulant medications increase the risk of sudden unexplained death in children and adolescents.
Other articles speak about the impact of long term Ritalin use upon cardiovascular health and conclude that children taking Ritalin should be closely monitored.
Regarding my affirmation about the impact of exercising upon ADHD please look at:
John J. Ratey, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Research Synthesizer, Speaker, and best selling Author. He has published over 60 peer reviewed articles, and 7 Books, including “A Users Guide to the Brain,” and the groundbreaking ADD-ADHD “Driven to Distraction” series with Ned Hallowell, MD. With his latest book, “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” (http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutio…) Dr. Ratey has embarked on a world-wide mission to re-engineer schools, corporations, and individual lifestyle practices by incorporating exercise to achieve peak performance and optimum mental health. Consistently named one of the Best Doctors in America by his peers, Dr. Ratey serves as Reebok’s Ambassador for Active Kids, is an Advisor to the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness Activity and Sport, and is an Adjunct Professor at Taiwan National Sports University. Dr. Ratey maintains a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is currently working on a book examining our genetic roots and the influence on our psychology in a modern world, to be published by Little Brown in 2013. More information http://www.johnratey.com
Regarding the ADHD brain:, and how ADHD impairs motor activity, and sensory input integration, which are all essential for spatial awareness and movement coordination which are in turn crucial for any practising gymnast you can find info on NIMH website, and many other places.
I hope this will post.
LikeLike
What’s the point on keeping discussing this? WADA says it’s legal, end of history. If you don’t think she has ADHD, I’m sorry for you, but you probably don’t even have the capacity to say this (I mean, you may read a lot, so what, you probably aren’t a psychiatrist and if you are, you don’t really know the pacient). She’s not even the only one who has ADHD in international elite level. If you really want to discuss about the effect of a drug in gymnastics’s bodies, let’s talk about the lack of meldonium in russian gymnastics and not this just because you didn’t like to hear that Simone takes Ritalin.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s certainly weird that the supposedly greatest gymnast of all time has ADHD. Why didn’t they talk about it before, if it’s not that big of an issue? Wouldn’t that encourage children with ADHD to want to do gymnastics too? Why keep it a secret?
Does Simone really have ADHD or not? I guess we will never know. I don’t expect she would lose her medals as corrupt WADA apparently was aware of everything. However, one thing is certain: a shadow of uncertainty will now ever hover about her achievements. Greatest of all time or a fraud? At least Mustafina can sleep the slumber of the Just.
LikeLike
I don’t think it’s weird at all. Tons of people have ADHD, it stands to reason some of them would be athletes. As Lauren and others have argued, a lot of gymnasts get started in the sport because they’re “bouncing off the walls” and their parents want a place to channel their energy. So it might even be more prevalent among gymnasts than in the general population.
And she didn’t “keep it a secret.” No one should have to disclose their private medical information if they don’t want to. That’s why this hack is so shitty in the first place.
I’m sure Simone sleeps just fine.
LikeLike
Do you know how many people in the US have been diagnosed with ADHD? It’s not weird at all that a gymnast has it, especially since she was diagnosed and medicated a decade before she even began competing elite internationally.
LikeLike
Dear Lauren,
Are you sure Simone Biles was diagnosed a decade before ? And are you sure she is the only one US gymnast diagnosed with ADHD ? Are you sure her treatment did not enhance her performance ?
In my country (France) ADHD is not yet recognised as a disease : it a big deal between neurologists and psychologists. A lot of psychiatrists say that ADHD doesn’t exist as a neurological but as a psychological problem. In other word ADHD would be an acronym to put a word on behavioral problems.
With some academics, students and journalists, we decided to lead a investigation about that case, because we can’t exclude that WADA protects a legal performance enhancement system. Simone obvioulsy followed the rule that doesn’t mean it’s the end of history.
LikeLike
The point of discussing this is truth itself. That matters too. This story has so many question marks written all over it that they cannot be ignored ( unless someone absolutely wants to). In discussing Simone’s “case” I’ve spoken in terms of probability not absolutes. For that you don’t really need to take a case. I will repeat all the question marks: first, ADHD is a very problematic diagnosis in itself starting with: the lack of biomarkers, the scarcity of true experts, the many external pressures that sometimes are in place to issue such a diagnosis:schools, parents, etc; Than comes the very early age at which the diagnosis was supposedly made- all diagnosis made at such a young age are from start very suspicious; in addition, in Simone’s case, there were so many problems in her family situation that even if she displayed more severe behaviours in terms of causality you would first consider her traumatic past and not brain impairment; ADHD is very many time not only over-diagnosed, but misdiagnosed. IF her caregivers had her diagnosed so early, it’s clear they couldn’t cope with her, and they wanted help more with ‘managing’ her than treating her. Under an ADHD diagnosis that could be easily done, under a different diagnosis other most costly therapies would have been suggested.. Than comes prognosis: even if she truly had ADHD as a kid, statistics say that many of the kids overcome it by the time they are teens, even if nothing is done about it. Than the impact of her gymnastics training. According to some experts, her prognosis with the kind of training she’s been doing for years should be fabulous.And ultimately the level of performance she reached in gymnastics in itself speaks against an ongoing ADHD diagnosis. Have you ever seen a child on Ritalin? Did it strike you as particularly coordinated or capable of big exploits in the gym? There is no wonder there are other gymnasts with an ADHD diagnosis considering how much ADHD is over/misdiagnosed, how many of these are correct though?
Could the truth be established in this matter? Obviously, no one has any interest to disclose more info about this. Recently researchers have used more extensively the MRI bran scans to account for differences in ADHD and non-ADHD kids, and even though they are not yet considered sufficient for diagnosis they do provide precious and in some respects conclusive info. In one of these studies they found that all those in the ADHD group initially had a thinner cortex( compared with the regular kids group), most prominently in frontal areas that control attention and motor activity. In a follow up those kids who overcame ADHD presented a thicker cortex similar with the ‘regular’ kids while in those who didn’t overcame ADHD the cortex remained thin. We could just imagine that someone intent on clarifying this matter could provide a scan of Simone’s brain which will show that she is still exhibiting this kind of thinner cortex in the areas that control attention and motor activity found in those who didn’t overcome ADHD in their teens…. and there are other tests that could be imagined just by reading about the ADHD brain.
Of course, nobody will ever do this, and even thinking about it is silly, but I would be happy to have any kind of proof of her innocence, and not this” please take my word for this” situation.
The other unpleasant aspect of this situation is that if she is indeed cheating and taking stimulants, doing it with the approval of WADA it makes it even more questionable in my eyes because it’s like laughing in everyone’s face showing that some can control everything and are never accountable to anyone not even when they are caught, and that would be insulting and dis-empowering not only towards the gymnastics fans, but towards everyone else including the American people.
Regarding my background, it’s my own business how many degrees I have and in what. The thing is this is not arcane matter and anyone who can read and is patient enough and does his research can form an informed opinion. If one where allowed to talk only about those topics in which they have a PhD the world would be a very silent place. Experts have their role but so does the mind God gave you which you are supposed to use for the good and for the truth.
LikeLike
Well, to make a comment about the awesome Belgian gymnasts and not speculation as to whether Simone really has ADHD:
It was so amazing seeing Belgium in Rio! I love watching their unique and playful choreography. They seem to take so much more enjoyment from their performances than most. I really hope they continue this amazing upward trajectory into the next quad. This next quad has so much potential to be one of the best: Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan all on the rise, Great Britain looking to stay in the echelon they reached this quad, Romania looking to rebuild its program, see what Canada can pull out… I’m excited!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, no idea where the WADA stuff came from on this article, lol. I hate literally everyone who commented on this and made it not about Belgium.
LikeLike