Four years ago, Gabby Douglas became a household name when she won the all-around title in women's artistic an the 2012 London Olympic Games in Gymnastics. A few days ago, Simone Biles became a household name when she won the all-around title by whopping two points at Rio 2016. The Fierce Five will forever be immortalized because of their win at 2012, and now the Final Five will also be immortalized because of their team win by eight points. Although the individual members of each of the teams are incredible, they will be remembered as the team and not as individuals.
The media coverage talks about Gabby and Simone, but they should be talking about Aly Raisman--and not just because her parents are incredibly entertaining. Aly Raisman is 22 years old and now an all-around silver medalist. Twice, Aly Raisman has out-qualified every favorite for the all-around in the olympics. In 2012, there was incredible drama when the world Champion Jordan Wieber did not make all-around finals because Raisman beat her. In 2016, Current olympic champion Gabby Douglas did not get to defend her title because Raisman beat her. I idolize Aly Raisman over Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles. I want to be like Aly Raisman.
Although I am a 19-year-old who only ever took one gymnastics class and my shot at being an Olympic gymnast has probably passed, I still want to be like Aly Raisman. Raisman currently has five Olympic medals and is likely to add more. In 2012, she won the team gold, she won the floor gold and she received a bronze on the beam. She narrowly missed a bronze in the all-around as well when she lost a tie-breaker in 2012. Now in 2016, she won another team gold. She received a silver medal in the all-around and she is likely to pick up a medal on the floor as well. There's no question about it--Aly Raisman is incredibly talented. She was in 2012 and she is in 2016, but the big difference is how much better she is now. Raisin reached the highest stage and she thrived but then she went back to work. She wanted to get back to the Olympics and she worked to get better. She didn't let the fame and attention get her off track and she got better.
After the Olympics, she did take time off to celebrate and revel in the glory, but then she went back to training. And when she went back she didn't just get back to where she was in 2012; she improved immensely. She dedicated herself to returning for Rio 2016 and now she's here and she's thriving.
Aly Raisman is among many incredible gymnasts, but in my opinion, she is the greatest. Simone Biles is set to possibly havefive gold medals by the time Rio is over. She is often noted as one the most dominant athletes of all time and that is most definitely true. Biles won the world all-around title the first time she competed at Worlds and made history by winning her third in a row in 2015. Simone Biles is incredibly talented, but she has been winning for a long time. It's not new to her. Aly Raisman has had to fight for her spot. She isn't in the direct spotlight, but she deserves to be. When London did not go exactly the way she planned, she decided she had to go back even though she would be relatively old for gymnastics at the ripe age of 22. Aly Raisman should be who little girls look up to because she works hard for what she wants and doesn't give up when she doesn't. She's incredible athlete and her determination and work show in the improvement from 2012 to 2016.
