Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman has created a name for herself and the United States that will, without a doubt, go down in history. She has done so much more than just take home medals for the US. She has set a standard behaviorally and physically. For the reasons listed below (and many other unmentioned ones) she is outstanding, to say the least. Meet Aly Raisman — a true American Hero.
1.) She accepts loss gracefully. Flashback to London 2012. The individual all-arounds did play out exactly as Aly would have hoped. After performing her heart out, she found herself tied for bronze with another gymnast, namely Aliya Mustafina, from Russia. While other sports at the Olympic Games can have competitors end in a tie, gymnastics goes to a tie-breaking procedure — the details of which I will not bore you with. In such procedures, Aly was stripped of the bronze and it was given to Aliya. Though she briefly voiced her unhappiness with the results, she certainly didn’t mope.
2.) She makes one heck of a comeback. Fast forward to Rio 2016. She worked her butt off to make the individual all-arounds once more – against pretty fierce competition. Given that only two gymnasts from every country can continue to the all-arounds, she was pitted against the girls she relies on, the girls who are also very talented. She did much more than hold her own against supreme favorite Simone Biles and was also able to edge defending champion Gabby Douglas in the process. (Also on the topic of making a comeback, she even took part of 2013 off to compete as a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars," and is still able to do what she does at the Olympics this year.)
3.) She accepts winning even more gracefully. After competing against teammate Simone Biles, aforementioned Aliya Mustafina, and others, she earned herself and the USA a silver medal in the event. The last time that the US took gold and silver in the women’s individual all-arounds was when Nastia Liukin took gold and Shawn Johnson took silver in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
4.) She is the prettiest ugly crier ever. I don’t understand how she mastered it but she did. Maybe she’s born with it; maybe it’s because she’s just world class in everything she does. Whatever it is, I’m jealous.
5.) She defied the odds… and the critics. Many commentators, previous athletes, and sports enthusiasts said she was in her prime for the 2012 London Olympics and would struggle being past her prime in Rio 2016. She proved them wrong — many, many times over. Though she isn’t 16, or even 19, like some of her teammates and fellow competitors, she showed that 22 could be just as rewarding.
6.) She is a captain of a team of incredible athletes. Gabby Douglas is a defending champion in multiple events, Simone Biles was picked to win 5 out of the six available gold medals in women’s gymnastics, and Laurie Hernandez is the dynamite newbie to the team. Even amongst such decorated young ladies, she manages to stand out and truly lead by example. Aly proves on and off the floor that you don’t have to necessarily be the most talented athlete, or the favorite, or the youngest, or the most decorated, to be the leader. It’s more of an attitude, a lifestyle, and she wears it so well.
So Aly, thank you. Thank you for how you represent yourself and the United States of America. Thank you for being such a phenomenal role model for the young athletes of the world. Thank you for personally reducing me to tears every time you come on the screen. Bravo.
