Dear Mom,

What makes an Olympian? What makes a person able to see a sport being played at the highest level and say, “I’m going to do that one day.” What separates that person from all of the rest of us mere mortals who look in total awe and know that it will never be us up on that podium.

OK. So… the 2024 Paris Olympic Games have ended. We have spent two weeks cancelling plans and avoiding the outdoors so we could curl up and watch the world’s best athletes compete in our favorite sports as well as the more obscure sports that still deserve our respect and viewership.

We have spent our mornings watching the live broadcast aired from Paris and then spent our evenings watching the primetime airing of the same performances. I have been listening to podcasts with runners and swimmers who were at the Olympics. I’ve been reading articles and watching documentaries about this year’s specific athletes as well as past Olympians. After two weeks, I can say I know more about the Olympics than ever before, and I am fully under its spell.

I’ve been trying to figure out when I fell in love. The first Olympics I truly remember watching as a family was in 2008 when we all went to that North Carolina beach house. I had graduated from college the same week and skipped my graduation ceremony to drive from Tallahassee to Emerald Isle to sit and watch the games. I do remember it being magical, but also not my idea of a way to celebrate graduating. I hadn’t fallen in love yet.

I don’t remember watching the Olympics as a kid. Well, not the summer Olympics. Maybe that’s because I was at camp for 8 weeks every summer? Did I miss the events because I wasn’t home? The 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta was a massive year with so many big stories and I vaguely remember seeing the gymnastics. Though I’m not entirely sure if I watched it in real time or if I only know of it from watching clip shows and documentaries about it later.  

The biggest memory I have of anything having to do with the Olympics was watching Cool Runnings on repeat. If anything had the power to inspire me to become an Olympian, it would have been that gem of a theatrical release. 

I know I got really into watching the Olympics in recent years. Maybe it began when I met Jeremy? Maybe he brought it out in me? Or maybe it was adulthood? That I could sacrifice two weeks during my summer to sit in front of a television to watch sports? Or perhaps it’s having kids? Wanting them to get inspired by the incredible athletes?

Whatever the reason, I love the Olympics now. I love every second of it. I love the swimming and gymnastics. I love the basketball and soccer. I even love the sports I don’t quite understand like handball and table tennis. 

The one I love the most though? The one that has me shifting clients around and cancelling plans? I am absolutely smitten with track and field. 

When I watch those athletes run around that track I wonder if I could have been out there. If, in some alternate realty, I could have been inspired by the Olympics as a kid and decided to try my hand at athletics.

Would my life be different now if I had fallen in love with these sports as a child and not as an adult? Possibly. But maybe not. 

What I do know, for sure, is that my children are currently falling in love.

Scotland has big dreams of being an Olympic gymnast, but she’s also open to other options.

Over the weekend we were at the pool, and I commented on how natural Scotland is in the water. She said to me, “Dad’s going to help me figure out my sport.” I asked for clarification. She then said, “Dad will help me decide which sport I’ll do for the Olympics.” FYI, Jeremy doesn’t know what she’s talking about, but anyway, my girl is so inspired by watching these athletes that she is thinking about which sport she wants to pursue on her journey. She knows, with full confidence, that she will be an Olympian one day. That she can be an Olympian. And I believe that. I do. In fact, I’m starting to believe that anyone can be an Olympian.

A host of one of my favorite podcasts said last week that she thinks the reason we have so much talent this year is that the Olympics are easier to watch. They’re on the television all day, at every hour, for two weeks. We can go back and watch replays. We can rewatch Simone Biles complete her vault routine over and over. We can all watch Sha’Carri Richardson’s beautiful anchor leg of the 4X100 relay and share photos of her glance to the second-place runner. We can watch Mallory Swanson score the only goal during the gold medal soccer match. 

Kids now have around the clock access to the inspirations that come from seeing greatness on their screens.

This must be the biggest difference between my childhood and now. Kids caught the Olympics back then. Kids were inspired. But it wasn’t all kids. When I was growing up, most families didn’t sit in front of the TV for two straight weeks watching the athletes. It wasn’t on TV for two straight weeks. Now it’s on all day every day so it’s easier to justify cancelling summer to watch. By watching it nonstop, the kids are able to feel the full impact. They are able to fall in love. They are able to dream.

Also, the kids have the chance to get to know these athletes. They are able to look up to them. Scotland knows all about Gabby Thomas and her outstanding achievements in academics as well as athletics. Idris knows all about Rai Benjamin’s tearful moment after he came in second in Tokyo and how happy he is now to win gold. 

Scotland can mimic Tara Davis-Woodhall falling back into the sand after dominating her long jump.

Idris can mimic Chris Bailey with his signature sunglasses as he accepts his gold medal.

Both kids have been hearing nonstop about the road to the Olympics. About how these athletes endured such ups and downs to make it all the way. How they pushed themselves past their breaking points. How their families stood behind them and lifted them up the entire way. They’ve been following along behind the scenes and understand how difficult it is to get to the Olympic level. 

And still… my seven-year-old daughter is determined to get there. 

If I’m being totally honest with myself… I also feel that same determination. I also have this intense drive to work my ass off to get to the Olympic level. Is it too late for me? Can I start training at 38 to be an Olympian? 

According to Google, if I’m over 30 and have no competitive background, I should be trying my hand at archery, shooting or curling. 

Hmmm….

Nah. Those aren’t my sports.

I want to train to be a sprinter. Or maybe an 800-meter runner. I want to train like the greats of track and field. When I grow up, I want to be like the women at the Olympics.

The women who run while they also raise children. Allyson Felix, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price, Faith Kipyegon, Shaune Miller-Uibo, Quanera Hayes and Elle St. Pierre. I want to channel their badassery and push myself further than I ever knew I could go.

I want to train to be an Olympian with the full awareness that I will never actually be one. Don’t worry, Mom, I’m not delusional. I know I’m never going to step foot on the Olympic track; however, I can still train to do so. I can still push my body. I can still try. I can still dream. 

The term ‘living through our children’ was quite popular when I was growing up. Parents pushed their kids to pursue dreams that they themselves were unable to accomplish. For women, I think that goes back to generations of girls being held back and pushed down and told they are lesser than and never capable to amount to anything. I think it goes back to girls believing that they could grow up to be assistants to men in the workplace and weaker versions of men in athletics. This baggage, during my childhood, caused moms to push their girls to be the things they dreamt of back when it was only a fantasy. 

When I was growing up girls were told they could be anything. They could do anything. But there weren’t many examples of that in the real world. We weren’t seeing women do great things as often as men. I barely knew the names of the world’s best female athletes. I barely knew the sports women were allowed to compete in. I had no clue that a woman could pursue a career in sport.

Probably because it wasn’t really happening yet. When I was a kid, women were rarely getting paid for their athletic prowess. If they got anything at all it wasn’t enough to quit their day jobs. Now? Now women can be successful athletes. They can raise families on income from sport. They can coach after retirement or become commentators at the Olympics. There are now futures for women in athletics. 

Because of this, I now see that girls truly can grow up to be anything. It is all possible now.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, for the first time in history, fifty percent of the athletes were women. More women won medals for the USA than the men did. The women dominated the games. My daughter can look at countless role models. My daughter can aspire to be like these amazing, incredible, strong, determined women. I can aspire to be like these amazing, incredible, strong, determined moms. Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez was seven months pregnant during this year’s Olympics. Archer Yaylagul Ramazanova of Azerbaijan was also in her third trimester. Two pregnant women competed. Many moms competed. Eleven-time Olympic medalist Allyson Felix even setup a nursery in the Olympic Village for the athletes and their families. The world is changing. The Olympics are changing. Girls can finally have realistic dreams. They can accomplish their goals. We have a long way to go with equal pay still, but at least women are allowed to show up and excel. At least women have equal space on the track and the pool and the court and the field. We are seen as real, legitimate athletes.

My daughter is lucky. She is growing up during a time when her Olympic dreams can be a reality. When she can envision herself up on that podium after years of hard work and perseverance. She knows that she can get there. That her dreams can realistically come true.

What makes an Olympian? In my opinion, it takes confidence. It takes a strong work ethic. It takes optimism.

I also think an Olympian is a person who works harder than anyone else to achieve their goals while believing that their goals are realistically achievable.

And I think that today anyone can truly be an Olympian. Today it feels achievable for more of the population than ever before.

Again, I may never be a true Olympian, but I know I can set goals for myself that are realistic. That I can do.

I know, though I may never reach a podium, I can still dream. I can still try. I can still be an amazing, incredible, strong, determined woman. I can train to run faster and excel at my goals and reach the top of my potential.

I can be an Olympian. In my own way.

I love you, Mom.

Love,

Rachel