“We Didn’t Want to Take Medication”- Serena Williams’ Fight Against Her Medical Condition Gave Olympic Gold Medalist Much Needed Validation

Published 06/08/2022, 9:00 AM EDT

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Perhaps there is some kind of relief in knowing that you are not alone in your sufferings and life challenges. There will always be other people like you going through something similar and yet winning at life. Therefore, when gymnast Aly Raisman found a common ground with tennis great Serena Williams and her teammate Simone Biles, it made her life a little easier.

When Simone Biles came forth with her mental health obstacles, the entire world got a validation that it’s not a thing to be ashamed about. She proved it can happen to even the best athletes like her as well. As a result, it changed everyone’s perspective regarding mental health, including American gymnastics superstar Aly Raisman.

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Aly Raisman’s take on similar migraine problems as Serena Williams

While describing her experience of having a conversation with tennis legend Serena Williams, the first thing Raisman said was, “I have been a fan of Serena (Williams) since the moment I first saw her on TV. I think Serena is just amazing and the word amazing doesn’t even do justice.” However, the two extremely talented athletes also share a common health issue i.e. migraine.

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The gymnast further added, “to be able to relate to her on something that’s so vulnerable and so personal, it’s also validating for me… we didn’t want to take medication because we want it to be really tough, and we learned as athletes to try to push through as much as we could.”

Former Gymnast Believes Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka ‘Saved Lives’ by Speaking Out at Tokyo Olympics 2020

On the changes she felt after having a conversation with Williams, she said, “I think just listening to my body and learning what feels right for me, it’s been nice to have that validated by Serena.”

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Simone Biles and Aly Raisman – Friends for life

Enduring shared trauma and fighting against it together made Simone Biles and former American gymnast, Aly Raisman friends for life. However, apart from some vulnerable moments, they’ve also shared some incredible times with each another. Perhaps all these highs and lows have cemented their friendship into a strong bond.

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It’s inspiring to see how adversities could bring out something so good as well. While Raisman has gone through enough in her life, she got an amazing friend in return.

WATCH THIS STORY- “They Practically Flipped the Dinner Table to See” – Simone Biles and Her Teammates Went Gaga to Meet World’s Fastest Man

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Written by:

Saurav Panwar

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Saurav Panwar is a US Sports writer at EssentiallySports. A postgraduate in Media and Communication Studies, he shares a profound love for creative direction and filmmaking. Saurav is also an avid reader and a literature devotee whose fandom spreads from classics to sci-fi, non-fiction, plays, comics, and much more.
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Edited by:

Manaal Siddiqui