Simone Biles of Team United States salutes the judges after competing on balance beam during Women’s Qualification on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, on July 25, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
The comedian Mike Birbiglia has a good bit about how gymnastics asks too much of the athletes because it requires gymnasts to salute the judges with grace and composure after a bout of tumbling and turning and twisting and flinging themselves into the air. That salute is not just custom or tradition; it is actually a requirement of the sport.