Tokyo Olympics: Daily Diary

Tuesday at the Olympics was dominated by talk of Simone Biles.

Stats Perform's man in Tokyo, Peter Hanson, was in attendance as Biles completed just one event in the women's team final in artistic gymnastics before withdrawing.

Afterwards, the 24-year-old delivered a powerful message about protecting mental health.

For more about that, plus a round-up of the other stories of interest in the Japanese capital, read on…

SIMONE'S INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE

I fully expected to be at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre to witness Simone Biles picking up her first gold of these Games, allowing me to start with a story about how comically poor I was at gymnastics at school.

Instead, I left feeling inspired by the bravery of Biles, who after one of the most disappointing nights of her sensational career, used her global platform to speak about the importance of protecting our mental health.

"Yeah, I say put mental health first, if you don't you won't enjoy sport and won't succeed as much as you want to, so it's okay sometimes to sit out the big competitions," she said at her news conference.

A message that will have as much, if not more, influence than her performances.

This evening’s spot for #Tokyo2020 Here for a live look at Simone Biles, who can win as many as six gold medals at these games pic.twitter.com/VYWtjSxZaZ

— Peter Hanson (@PeterHanson89) July 27, 2021

‘I say put mental health first.’ Pretty great message at her presser from Simone Biles after what must have been an incredibly tough night. Using her platform to deliver that is as, if not more, inspiring than her brilliance on the floor.#Tokyo2020

— Peter Hanson (@PeterHanson89) July 27, 2021

TYPHOON THREAT GETS TONGUES WAGGING

One thing I thought I would finally escape leaving behind the UK for a few weeks was talk about the weather. I was, dear reader, sadly mistaken.

The opening days of these Games brought severe heatwaves and the humidity was pretty tough to cope with at times.

But then came the threat of a typhoon and tropical storms hitting Tokyo, thanks to the looming threat of Tropical Storm Nepartak.

Getting into the lift for breakfast, I chatted with a journalist from the Czech Republic who said: "Have you caught up on news about the typhoon? I'm so happy, something is finally happening!"

You really do have to admire such enthusiasm...

HANSON OR HANSEN?

One of the best things about the Games is the different people you get to meet from all over the world covering their respective nations.

At the Gymnastics, I was stationed next to a journalist from Denmark and, as we were both watching gymnastics live for the first time, we quickly struck up a conversation.

After about 15 minutes one of life's lovely coincidences occurred... it turns out the man's son shared the same name as me!

Well, almost. He happens to be Peter Hansen... so close to that Spider-Man meme dream folks. So very, very close.

I’m sat next to a journo from Denmark, whose son is called Peter Hansen. So, so close to the Spider-Man meme.#Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/wpsCNLB0lh

— Peter Hanson (@PeterHanson89) July 27, 2021

MAID FOR SUCCESS…

As seems to be the case at every Olympics, the swimming pool has provided several wonderful moments at these Games already.

The big shame, as I've probably bored you to tears with already, is the fact none of these historic moments are being witness by spectators.

That alone has led some to question the veracity of these Games and ask if people really care about them, considering all that is going on.

I certainly would not class myself in that bracket and nor would the family of Great Britain swimmer Tom Dean, who pipped team-mate Duncan Scott to gold in a thrilling 200 metres freestyle race at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

His family back home in Maidenhead have gone viral on social media for their celebrations, taking place in the very, very early hours. How very, very lovely it is to watch, too.

Mayhem in Maidenhead for @tomdean00 Behind every athlete is a group of friends & family - this is what that moment meant to them @LewisCoombes pic.twitter.com/CN9tdx5rDo

— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 27, 2021