Going for Gold: Asian American Athletes use Mental Health to their Advantage in the 2024 Paris Olympics
Setting the Gold Standard of Athleticism
Nearly 600 athletes are representing the United States during this year’s 2024 Paris Olympics. Among them are incredible Asian Americans who are not only representing their country, but also their AAPI community. Talk about honor and saving face! They’re exploring unknown territories (Sunny Choi in the newest Olympic sport: breakdancing), shattering world records (Suni Lee as the first Hmong-American Olympian) and challenging Asian stereotypes (Beiwen Zhang who formerly represented Singapore and China).
They are setting the gold standard of excellence for athletes globally.
One particularly notable breakthrough this year is how Asian American athletes are tackling the stigma around mental health. Rather than viewing their nerves or anxiety as a weakness, these athletes are leveraging their emotions as a strength to their success. They prioritize their mental health to enhance their performance.
By addressing issues like anxiety, stress, and cultural pressures, they are not only improving their focus and endurance but also redefining narratives surrounding mental health in sports. Their holistic approach is paving the way for a new era in athletics where mental strength is valued as much as physical prowess, inspiring a generation to embrace comprehensive well-being in their pursuit of excellence. In this article, we celebrate the ways in which Asian American athletes exercise their body, brain, and hearts together.
Sunny Choi is open about how her depression impacts her artistic expression
Credits: NBC News; Mike Coppola / Getty Images
Sun Choi (“Sunny”) is the first US female breaker (often referred to as a “breakdancer”) to qualify for the Olympics in the latest sport category. She won the first gold medal ever given for breaking in the Pan American Games, enabling her to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and also won a silver medal for the breaking competition at the 2022 World Games.
Yet, believe it or not, Sunny actually had a career in corporate America before becoming a professional dancer. She earned her MBA at the Wharton School of Business and worked as the director of global creative operations at Estee Lauder, but experienced chronic burnout and reported turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism.
She is open about how mental health has impacted her life, both professionally and personally.
“I was a high achiever, still in high school, and doing gymnastics 25 hours a week, so I had no social life outside of that,” Choi told NBC News. “Coupled with having such high standards for myself, it went from periods of burnout to something much more extreme.”
And this openness is the key to her success.
Choi states publicly that her therapy appointments are vital to her Olympics preparation. It certainly helped that mental healthcare was affordable and accessible, as her therapist was free to her through the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee; plus her therapist is trained to address her unique intersectional identity as her therapist has a background in both sports psychology and mental health.
With this coaching, Choi has better structured her days by taking “micro-breaks” with breathing exercises so she can connect with herself and doesn’t burn through the day. She also allows herself to cry, which she previously saw as taboo but now has opened up parts of her personality to become a better dancer. Her words of advice are “We all judge ourselves,” she said. “When I learned that it was OK to not be OK, I think things really started changing for me.”
Vinesh Phogat bears the weight of her country and the diaspora on her shoulders… even 100 grams matters
Credits: Olympics.com; Getty Images
Vinesh Phogat is an accomplished Indian wrestler who comes from a renowned Phogat family from Haryana, whose mind-blowing story of female empowerment was the inspiration for the popular Bollywood movie "Dangal." Vinesh earned several prestigious awards including the Arjuna Award and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honor, as well as winning medals at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and World Wrestling Championships.
She is an inspiration for people of Indian descent everywhere, so much so that the Indian American community is rooting fiercely for her.
She’s suffered more than her fair share of setbacks, including a severe knee injury in the 2016 Rio Olympics, shifting last minute from the 53kg weight category to the 50kg weight category due to complications with her rival Antim Panghal, and being unfairly dragged through the streets of Delhi for advocating for women’s rights.
But in this year’s Olympics dealt her one of the most devastating setbacks.
In a brilliant Olympic upset, Phogat defied expectations and beat the formerly undefeated world champion Yui Susaki with only 10 seconds left to spare. She then breezed through two more rounds and was on her way to the finals. However, the morning of the match and despite reportedly spending the entire night working out without food or water, she weighed in at 100 grams over the allowable limit and was disqualified.
Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, the head of her medical team, said, “We tried all possible drastic measures throughout the night including cutting off her hair, shortening her clothes, despite all of this we could not make the 50 kg weight category.”
Phogat’s story reminds us the importance of having a support system ready in the face of shocking disappointment and unexpected crisis, and to protect one’s mental health when grieving loss. Phogat also shows us the power of community during tough times, as people of South Asian descent rally to advocate for her.
Suni Lee uses humor and self-care to remain resilient
Credits: Teen Vogue; Getty Images
Suni Lee made history at the 2020 Tokyo Games as the first Asian American woman to win an all-around gold medal in gymnastics. She dominated media headlines the same way she dominated the balance beams, uneven bars, and floor. However, the intensity of the global attention and international pressure made her experience imposter syndrome.
Imagine that - an Olympic gold medalist feeling like she didn’t deserve to win!
This was made worse by her 2023 diagnosis of an incurable kidney disease, which impacted her weight and body image. In the face of immense scrutiny, pressure to succeed and her own self-acknowledged people-pleasing tendencies, Suni turned inward to find strength. She invests in simple self-care routines such as positive visualizations, journaling, and therapy.
She even pokes fun at herself and finds joy in mistakes, thus rebranding failure as an opportunity. For example, when she went viral on social media for falling during the balance beam final, she made lighthearted jokes with the caption “unfortunately I was selected for the Olympics.”
Her advice for addressing self-doubt? Focus on progress over perfection. "I would give myself a medal for not giving up," she noted. "There has been so much that I could have given up on and so many things that have happened to where I could have just put this aside and moved on with my life.”
Mitchell Saron monitors his nutrition, diet, and sleep to maintain a strong mind-body connection
Credits: US Magazine; Al Bello/Getty Images
Mitchell Saron is a Filipino-American sabre fencer who started fencing at the age of nine, inspired by "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith." He has the #1 ranked junior men’s sabre fencer in the U.S. during the 2019-2020 season and among the top five globally.
Saron graduated from Harvard University, where he won numerous accolades such as First Team All-Ivy and All-American honors. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and a serious thumb injury, Saron continued to excel, adapting his technique and winning crucial tournaments that secured his place on the Olympic team.
In addition to his athletic achievements, Saron is known for his dedication to health and wellness, adhering to a strict diet and rigorous training regimen. He has been open about his disciplined approach to meal planning. This includes a nutrient-packed breakfast with pasture-raised eggs, cottage cheese, grass-fed ground beef, avocado, raw parmesan cheese, dragon fruit and even a papaya boat filled with Greek yogurt, coconut flakes, bananas, blueberries, 100 percent cacao and raw honey.
What a combination of Eastern and Western cuisines!
Saron thinks about his health holistically and called-out the connection between what we eat and how we feel. “Transforming my wellness routine started when I took full ownership of not only my results in fencing, but in my entire life,” Saron told US Weekly. “I ditched alcohol and processed foods and I eat a primal, organic diet. My secret weapons became daily ice baths, heat and red light therapy, and of course, getting full nights of sleep.”
Asher Hong leans on his peers for support and teamwork
Credits: Getty Images
Asher Hong is a Texas-born Stanford student who worked together with his teammates to secure a Bronze Medal for US Men’s Gymnastics, ending a 16-year drought. According to the Associated Press, Asher worked together with his teammates, cheered each other up when others were low, and used their collective experiences to “shake off an iffy qualifying session on Saturday in which they finished a sloppy fifth.” How does Asher do so? By being his authentic self and working with his colleagues, Asher Hong is able to bring “hype energy” to his floor routine and “calm and composure” to his vault.
Outside of gymnastics, Hong enjoys subjects like math and science and hobbies such as table tennis and billiards. Some of his favorite books include "The Hobbit" and "Call of the Wild," while his favorite movies include "Shawshank Redemption" and "Avengers Endgame.” He also isn’t afraid to indulge in self-care by spending on things that make him happy, such as perfumes and fragrances.
"When I put the (fragrance) on, I know it’s go time. Like, that’s the mood. It sets the tone," Hong told Reuters after competing in the first session of qualifying on the opening day of the Olympic gymnastics competition.
In these subtle ways, Hong defies stereotypes of toxic masculinity and demonstrates the duality of who can be both powerful and gentle, especially in the world of US Men’s Gymnastics.
Concluding Thoughts
The 2024 Paris Olympics are notable for featuring athletes that overcome the fear of failure in epic proportions. This year, Team USA has been outspoken in how they prioritize mental health at the games, amplifying voices from veteran competitors such as Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka who have been vocal about this topic. Within Team USA, several Asian American athletes recognize the importance of mental well-being alongside physical training. These athletes are integrating mental health practices such as mindfulness, therapy, and resilience-building techniques into their routines.
Sunny Choi, Suni Lee, Vinesh Phogat, Mitchell Saron, and Asher Hong are just four individuals among a phenomenal roster of Asian athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics. We are excited to celebrate the many AANHPI athletes who represent resilience in physical, mental, and emotional health. This includes:
Water Polo: Emily Ausmus and Johnny Hooper
Volleyball: Micah Christenson, Garrett Muagututia, Erick Shoji, Justine Wong Orantes
Rugby: Naima Fuala’au, Alena Olsen, Lucas Lacamp
Badminton: Jennie Gai, Howard Shu, Annie Xu, Kerry Xu, Joshua Yuan, Beiwen Zhang
Table Tennis: Kanak Jha, Lily Zhang, Rachel Sung, Amy Wang
Tennis: Jessica Pegula, Rajeev Ram
Fencing: Lee Kiefer, Alexander Massialas
Shooting: Ada Korkhin
Golf: Collin Morikawa, Lilia Vu, Rose Zhang
Surfing: Carissa Moore
Gymnastics: Leanne Wong
Our mission at Anise Health is to set the gold standard of mental healthcare for the Asian community, and are inspired by these athletes as they set the gold standard for athletic excellence.
