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My Favorite Olympic Moments
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Hey friends,
The Olympics are one of my favorite sporting events. Sure, there is the inherent pride that you feel when your country takes home a gold medal, but more importantly, the Olympics serve as an inspirational avenue to hear incredible stories from athletes all over the world.
Whether it’s athletes overcoming imperfect training conditions or a Ph.D. in applied mathematics shocking the world to win gold, these stories just never get old. So today, I figured I would share a few of my favorites from Tokyo.
Enjoy, and we’ll talk tomorrow.
Quan Hongchan (China)
Event: Women’s 10m Platform Diving
Quan Hongchan turned 14 years old just 4 months before winning a gold medal in the 10m platform diving final. Quan comes from a poor farmer family in Guangdong province and represented China as their youngest athlete at the Tokyo Games.
The world watched in awe as she made her international debut and delivered perfect dives with a record-breaking score. Quan won gold, but she made her goal clear: “My mum is ill…I just want to make money to get her medical treatment because my family needs a lot of money to cure her illness.”
There is nothing better than seeing one of the youngest Olympians master their sport while reminding us what this is all about.
Timothy Cheruiyot (Kenya) & Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway)
Event: Men’s 1500m
Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot has dominated his long-time rival Jakob Ingebrigsten of late, defeating the 20-year-old from Norway 12 consecutive times. But the 1500m Olympic final proved to be different.
Ingebrigtsen rounded Cheruiyot on the final lap with a time of 3:28.32, breaking the Olympic record and winning gold. Cheruiyot landed a silver medal but displayed an unforgettable act of sportsmanship, gifting his bracelet to Ingebrigtsen.
It was an unbelievable moment for both Olympians and a powerful display of international friendship & respect for your opponent.
Hidilyn Diaz (Philippines)
Event: Women’s 55kg Weightlifting
Hidilyn Diaz lifted an Olympic record of 127 kilograms in the clean and jerk event to win the Philippines’ first-ever gold medal and end the country’s 97-year drought. It didn’t come easy, though.
Due to Covid restrictions, Diaz had to train in Malaysia, away from her family and home. Stranded without a gym to train in, Diaz took matters into her own hands. She built her own gym, and instead of using professional equipment, Diaz created lifting sets out of jugs of water and bamboo sticks.
Her training journey led to historical Olympic performance. In addition to her gold medal, Diaz received $660,000 and a house paid for by the government and several local business people. "I sacrificed a lot. I wasn't able to be with my mother and father for how many months and years, and then, of course, training was excruciating, but God had a plan."
Anna Kiesenhofer (Austria)
Event: Women’s Road Race, Road Cycling
Anna Kiesenhofer’s road to number one wasn’t traditional, and her background isn’t what you’d think. In fact, Kiesenhofer didn’t even turn pro until 2017, yet she shocked the world with an incredible finish by beating renowned cyclist, Annemiek van Vleuten by 75 seconds to win Olympic gold in road cycling.
So, who is Anna Kiesenhofer? She has a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge, England, and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona. She attributes her gold medal win to her uniqueness and ability to problem solve and stay unpredictable (much like how she approaches mathematics). Despite her massive win, Kiesenhofer wants to stay out of the spotlight, return to normal life, and is excited to get back to her university to lecture next semester.
Flora Duffy (Bermuda)
Event: Women’s Triathlon
Flora Duffy’s journey to a gold medal had quite the build. Duffy appeared in three previous Olympics — Beijing (where she was lapped and didn’t finish), London (where she crashed and finished 45th), and Rio (where she finished 8th).
Finally, she took her chance in Tokyo. Duffy won Bermuda’s first-ever Olympic gold medal without a coach or a bike mechanic and became the first Bermudian to win both world & Olympic titles. Her story is one of perseverance and never letting herself get knocked out.
Yuto Horigome (Japan)
Event: Men’s Street Skateboarding
With the Olympic debut of skateboarding in Tokyo, Yuto Horigome won the first gold medal in the same neighborhood where he grew up practicing. His dad, a taxi driver in Tokyo, introduced his son to the sport and used to skateboard himself, but stopped once he married since it was seen as a hobby for renegades in Japan.
Still today, there are signs around Tokyo that say “No Skateboarding.” Even though Horigome hasn’t seen his family since before the pandemic, winning gold nearby his hometown was an incredibly humbling moment for him and his family to share.
Tamyra Mensah-Stock (United States of America)
Event: Women’s Freestyle 68kg Wrestling
Mensah-Stock, the daughter of an immigrant from Ghana, is the first black woman to take home a gold medal in wrestling for the United States.
Her journey is a testament to strength and leadership. After losing her dad in a tragic car accident in 2009, Mensah-Stock considered ending her wrestling career, but she knew her dad would have wanted her to stay focused and keep winning.
The decision to stay in the game led her to a gold medal and the chance to make her mother’s dream come true. “I’ve seen her struggling ever since my dad died, and I don’t like seeing it,” she told People Magazine.
Just like she promised five years ago, Mensah-Stock plans to use her gold medal winnings to purchase a food truck to supper her mother’s love of cooking. Mensah-Stock is the definition of a champion.
Italo Ferreira (Brazil)
A fisherman’s son from a small town in northeast Brazil, Italo Ferreira's family couldn't afford a surfboard when he was growing up. So what did he do? Italo taught himself to surf using the styrofoam lid from the cooler his dad sold fish from.
Now, he’s the first-ever surfer to win an Olympic gold medal.
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