It has been such an exciting first week of the 31st Olympic Games in Rio; world records and Olympic records seem to be broken almost daily. After the first couple of days, Team USA has been at the top of the medal count with over 15 golds, and well over 40 medals in total. In the women’s gymnastics realm, Team USA’s “Fierce Five” took the gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. After an amazing performance in Rio, Team USA took home the gold once again, labeling themselves as the “Final Five” – a tribute to their beloved coach’s retirement. After watching these athletes perform all week, here is my takeaway from what I’ve learned from these “Final Five” teammates.
- 1.Aly Raisman – Leadership. As team captain this time around, she is always showing her leadership on and off the stage. You can always see her congratulating and motivating her teammates after they perform or before they go on. As a repeat Olympian, she shows dedication to Team USA in an amazing leadership role.
- 2.Gabby Douglas – Humility. Gabby Douglas is a household name for many. After being the all-around gold medalist in London 2012, as well as being a gold medalist in the team finals, you would expect her to be the go to girl on all things gymnastics. She stays humble though, and you won’t see her using it as a way to boost her position on the team. In fact, she only competed in one event during the team finals this year.
- 3.Madison Kocian – Focus. This girl is probably the least talked about or covered by the media. However, she is the best in the world at what she does – uneven bars. The team chose her specifically for this event and she’s been world champion in the event for more than 2 years. And just because she’s focused and amazing in this one event – she doesn’t suffer in her other events. She performs great in all areas but has the amazing talent in uneven bars that Team USA needed.
- 4.Laurie Hernandez – Character. Everytime she steps out to do her floor routine you know that you’re in for a treat. Her routine is covered with sass, spunk, and all sorts of character that you can only receive from Laurie Hernandez. She stays true to herself and always has a smile on her face when you see her, both on and off the stage. She’s outgoing and has that charming personality that makes her anyone’s friend almost instantly.
- 5.Simone Biles – Dedication. Everyone has heard the amazing and inspiring back story this girl has – if you haven’t I’m sure it’s online somewhere for you to find. Even as a little kid she was winning competitions left and right and she never quit – she made it all the way to the international stage and now the Olympics. This girl is driven and dedicated and won’t let anything stand in the way of her and her goals.
Overall, Team USA’s “Final Five” is a group of incredible, diverse girls. They all showcase many strengths individually but also make an unbeatable team. There are so many lessons to be learned from these girls about teamwork – however they also showcase their own amazing character traits individually. Sadly, the gymnastics scene is over for the 2016 Rio Olympics, but there’s still plenty more events to come!
