RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR.: Simone Biles’ triumph at the Tokyo Olympics transcends medals

“Never, never, never give up.”

— Winston Churchill

For superstar U.S. gymnast Simone Biles — who has won a total of seven Olympic medals in her career — the bronze medal she won Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics will probably always be her favorite. After all, that medal was particularly hard-earned.

Following her win, Biles told reporters that she hadn’t expected to be cleared to compete in the balance beam competition. “I was just happy to be able to perform regardless of the outcome,” she said. “I did it for me, and I was just proud of myself for being able to compete one more time.”

It had been a week since Biles stunned fans around the world by hitting pause and withdrawing from a handful of other events at the Tokyo games to get her mind and body back in sync. Suddenly, the Olympics became the vehicle for people around the world to discuss a touchy subject that most of us would just as soon avoid talking about: mental health.

But there was another topic — one that can be just as sensitive — that also surfaced thanks to Biles: quitting.

Certainly, Biles didn’t quit the games or gymnastics altogether. But she did quit from competing in a number of events. If the word “quit” sounds harsh to your ear, you can think of it as backing away, catching a breath or taking a time out. Whatever you like. The point is, she was supposed to show up for these events, and she didn’t.

I can’t imagine that Winston Churchill, the iconic prime minister of Great Britain, would be pleased.

Of course, to paraphrase Lt. Col. Kilgore as played by Robert Duvall in “Apocalypse Now”: Winston didn’t tuck, flex or vault.

Weathering the London Blitz is one thing. Conquering the “twisties” — a disorienting mental glitch that puts a gymnast’s mind and body out of sync in midair and can lead to serious injury — is a whole different thing.

Or so I hear. Before the start of the Tokyo games, and Biles’ decision to walk away from some of the events, I had never heard the term “twisties.” Nor had I thought much about how dangerous and difficult gymnastic routines are. Biles and her cohort make it look easy, but it’s obviously not.

And nor had I considered the enormous mental pressure that Olympic athletes are under — not just to perform at the games, but also to represent their country and serve as role models for young people around the globe.

Now, thanks to Biles, I’m thinking about all that — and more.

“It’s hard, it’s different, we’re still human, we have feelings,” Biles told reporters.

Also thanks to Biles, I am now pretty confused by a concept on which I thought I had a firm grasp: giving up.

I’ve tried to live my entire life according to the Churchillian creed. I’ve walked away from a few things over the years. I’ve corrected a wrong turn, a bad decision, a poor choice or a terrible mistake. But, for the most part, I don’t cut and run — even where a wiser man might have.

I also preach what I practice. For more than 30 years, I’ve spoken to high school students, and I always give them three pieces of advice: Follow your passion, develop your talents and never give up. I don’t think that people who open businesses should throw in the towel at the first sign of adversity or that college students who get homesick ought to drop out of school.

On the other hand — and here’s where the confusion comes in — I also think people should not stay in bad marriages and that politicians should not stubbornly pursue faulty policies.

Now I see there is another exception to the “don’t quit rule” — when stepping away is necessary to protect one’s mental health.

The Simone Biles story is about mental health for sure. But it is also about the right of Olympic or professional athletes — and all celebrities — to step back and reclaim their lives. Public figures are not public property.

“To bring the topic of conversation on mental health to light means the world to me because people have to realize that, at the end of the day, we’re humans, we’re not just entertainment,” Biles said.

We already knew the 24-year-old Olympian was strong and brave. But now we know that she is also, oh so wise.

Contact Ruben Navarrette at ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His podcast, “Ruben in the Center,” is available through every podcast app.