Nastia Liukin Doesnt Blame Gus Kenworthy For Her Special Forces Exit
Special Forces recruit Nastia Liukin withdrew after Gus Kenworthy said that she had special treatment. However, she doesn't blame him for her exit.
Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin voluntarily withdrew from Special Forces: World's Toughest Test after Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy complained about her getting special treatment, but she does not blame him for her early exit. On the third day of the show, the recruits were challenged with an emergency escape drill. They had to hold their breath underwater in a car for 20 seconds until they were given the signal that they could unbuckle their seat belts and swim out. Nastia questioned whether she could complete the task because she thought that she would not be able to hold her breath for that long. Although she eventually did fulfill the challenge, DS agent Remi Adeleke sat next to her in the vehicle. This upset Gus, who felt that she received special treatment and did not really pass the test.
In an interview with E! News, Nastia admitted that, although Gus' words bothered her, he was not the reason that she left Special Forces. She said, "That person didn't probably mean it in the moment. We were all laughing about no sleep, poor nutrition. I don't blame anybody for what they said. I just hold myself accountable to how I reacted to the words." She also said that, after months of thinking about her Special Forces exit, she wondered what her experience would have been like if she had stayed a bit longer. She confessed, "I think it's a lesson I've learned. We can't go back in time, and we can't change anything."
Nastia Liukin Let Gus Kenworthy Get To Her On Special Forces
When thinking about her Special Forces exit, Nastia admitted, "I definitely did let somebody's words get to me. I let someone else's thoughts about me dictate my worth and dictate the internal progress and the breakthroughs and that mental strength that I thought I had found and made to that point." She said that she believes she left Special Forces "because my integrity was at stake and I don't take that lightly." Nastia explained that she did not win the Olympics with special treatment, and she did not want to receive special treatment on Special Forces either. However, she said that she now realizes "I allowed my own perception of myself to be impacted by other people's words." Nastia revealed that she did not ask for any additional resources for the challenge because she felt that it would be unfair since "nobody else got that."
Gus' actions toward Nastia during Special Forces were very disrespectful. He began by sarcastically wondering if the recruits would be allowed another bathroom break because Nastia unexpectedly took an hour to complete the task. He then passive-aggressively questioned the DS agents when they announced who had failed the test, and Nastia's name was not on the list. He asked if their names not being called meant that they passed. The Special Forces DS agents forced him to do push-ups to make up for his "stupid question." However, Gus later explained that he asked because he wondered why Nastia had passed if she had special help. He also pointed out to her that she had threatened to quit before two other tasks, and she was beginning to sound like the boy who cried wolf. Although he eventually commended her for completing the task, Nastia felt that her integrity had been questioned and no longer wanted to compete with a teammate who did not support her.
Gus was wrong to question Nastia because, on Special Forces, the only person a contestant is competing against is himself or herself. Nastia did not receive any points or perks for passing the challenge because those things do not exist on Special Forces. There was no reason for him to care about whether she passed because it did not affect him in any way. The DS agents warned him that he should worry about himself, and they were right. Special Forces showed that equal and fair are two different things. In order to keep the competition fair, Nastia was given an accommodation. This does not mean that she did not complete the task. Nastia deserved better from Gus, and her reaction to his criticism is completely understandable.
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST on FOX.
Sources: E! News, Nastia Liukin/Instagram
Related Topics About The AuthorRecommended Articles
ncG1vNJzZmirk6eyprrRmqWtZpOkunC%2Fz56aopmcYrOwvsKeqmamkajBqq2MpaCuo5mjeqjB0mainqanpL%2B1tNhmnLGhpGQ%3D