On July 10, 2016, five young women were crowned the ultimate glory of representing USA Women’s Artistic Gymnastics at the Rio Olympics.
Simone Biles. Gabby Douglas. Aly Raisman. Madison Kocian. Laurie Hernandez.
Watching these girls run onto the floor, crying tears of joy amidst the thousands of fans cheering, balloons and confetti raining down from above, I couldn’t help but tear up myself. As a former competitive gymnast, I know how much hard work, sacrifice, and devotion is needed for one to succeed in the sport. Hours of training every day. Pushing your body to its physical limit. At seven years old, waking up early each morning to your mother’s gentle prodding touch, crying, “I don’t want to go, I want to quit!” because you are too physically drained to even crawl out of bed. But you persist. You persist for years and years because THIS is your livelihood. Your passion. Your sole identity.
Do you know how many young boys’ and girls’ dream of making it to the top? They dream of the moment they can represent their home country on the greatest stage in the world -- the Olympics. They dream of the greatest glory. But only a miniscule fraction of those dreamers will make it.
We hear the stories of those lucky enough to reach the summit. But we seldom hear stories of athletes who fight just as hard, sacrifice just as much of their lives to make it to the Olympics, only to fall short of The Dream. Whether it’s because of injury, or simply an off day at competition, athletes can have their Dream snatched away quicker than you can spell the word “Rio.”
Competitive athletics is ruthless.
So, watching those five lucky gymnasts make it to Rio filled me with emotion. I just wanted to transport through the television screen and hug and cry with these girls, because I know how much each of them deserved this.
But there was another part of me that felt for the girls standing on the sidelines, in the shadows, off the carpet. Hidden from view. As the camera did a sweeping take of the San Jose SAP Center, I caught a momentary glimpse of the six gymnasts who fell short of Olympic glory. And I felt devastated with them. Didn’t they work just as hard, sacrifice just as much, for their sport? Don’t they deserve just as much recognition for their lifelong efforts? I felt for them, because I myself have an unfulfilled Olympic dream. I won’t pretend that I was an Olympic hopeful -- I wasn’t. I wasn’t even on the U.S. rhythmic gymnastics national team. But I worked hard and had an all-consuming desire to make my Dream turn into Reality. Unfortunately, just after I completed a strong competitive season that culminated in the 2012 Junior Olympics, a knee injury cut short my budding career.
Sadly, my story is incredibly common in the world of competitive athletics. Elite athletes push their bodies to the edge for the sake of fulfilling their Dream, only to get injured from the sheer physical intensity of training. Sometimes, the injuries last a lifetime. An everlasting painful reminder of what could have been.It’s heartbreaking. It really is.
And what of those who do make it? Before you know it, the 2016 Games will be over. New athletes will be crowned Kings and Queens, serving as role models for young athletes to look up to. Some athletes will be lucky enough to live off the laurels of their great accomplishment. Their lives will be the topic of extensive media coverage -- advertisements, commercials, TV interviews, autobiographies, documentaries, features on reality shows like “Dancing with the Stars,”etc. The doors of the world will open for them. They will have fame, money and well-deserved Olympic glory.
Most Olympians, however, will go back to their daily routines after the Games are over. Some may decide to fight for the next Olympics and attempt to recapture their former glory. Others may choose to retire from the sport. Either way, the ultimate glory of competing at the Olympics is transitory, fleeting, momentary. That’s the reality. You work your whole life to accomplish a single dream, and once you’ve achieved, it’s over. For many athletes, the Olympic Games is the zenith of their lives. Everything after may seem lesser in comparison.
I wish our girls the best of luck at Rio. I know they will blow everyone away -- USA Women’s gymnastics always does, thanks to amazing coaches, supportive parents, and of course, Márta Károlyi, our powerhouse national team coordinator for the past 16 years. But I do hope that, after the Olympics, these girls will learn to find beauty in “normalcy.” The life of an elite-level athlete is in no sense normal. You devote your life to your sport. You miss out on a carefree childhood and sure as hell don’t party or date in high school, let alone attend public school. There is no balance for Olympic athletes. I want these girls, and all other Olympians, to know that, even though a life away from the fame, glory, publicity, and traveling the world for competitions may seem boring, the view is actually pretty amazing from down here.
