Simone Biles’ openness about her mental health struggles makes it easier for other athletes to speak up, according to to a 2-time Olympic champion

• Simone Biles has been praised for her openness on her mental health struggles at the Tokyo Olympics.
• Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin said it makes other athletes realize they are not the only ones feeling the pressure.
• Biles withdrew from four events at Tokyo, citing a mental block known as the "twisties" as the cause.

Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin has praised Simone Biles for helping to give other athletes the confidence to speak more openly about their own mental health struggles.

Biles became the story of the Tokyo Olympics when she withdrew from four of her five events, citing mental health difficulties as the cause. At the games, Biles suffered from a mental block known as the "twisties," where she felt disoriented in the air.

While she was criticized by some, the wider sporting world praised her for her openness. This week, skiing phenom Shiffrin became the latest big name in sports to endorse Biles' openness about her struggles.

"Having one of the most recognized and biggest voices in sports right now talk about this and show how real it is to [struggle], it makes it a little bit easier to talk about," alpine skier Shiffrin told People magazine.

"It gives all of us athletes the ability to say, 'Oh, you're not alone feeling that way. I'm not the only one who feels pressure.'

"Not every athlete can relate to the kind of pressure that Simone has to deal with, and has dealt with, but it's good to have the conversation,"

"And it's good to feel like we can be open about that. I think it also makes it easier to figure out how we can deal with the pressure better when we all admit that it exists."

The 26-year-old said every sport has its own version of the "twisties."

"For some sports it means you miss the goal, and for some sports it means you land on your neck instead of your feet, or you fall as you're racing down an icy mountain.

"Maybe some sports have a little higher risk, but the pressure is always there."

Shiffrin is in training ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics next year, and is hoping to add to the gold medals she earned in the 2014 and 2018 games.

She recently picked up her 70th career win and is approaching Ingemar Stenmark's alpine skiing record of 86 wins but says that is "not where I choose to keep my attention for any long period of time."

"It's an amazing number, it's a cool statistic, it definitely makes me smile, but at the end of the day, the thing that's gotten me to this point is focusing on my skiing, improving and just skiing faster and always pushing that limit,"

"At the end of the day, you can drive yourself crazy looking at numbers and thinking about records and if you're going to break it or if you're not going to break it, and you can set yourself up to feel disappointed for the rest of your life."