The Olympic Games are an incredible event to watch, no matter who you are. It is amazing to see thousands of athletes from all over the world come together in order to play and compete against each other, but in the end they show great sportsmanship no matter the outcome. One of my favorite sports to watch, mainly because I understand what is going on, is gymnastics. The gymnasts, men and women alike, go through rigorous amounts of training, physically, mentally and emotionally to get ready for practices and competitions. None of the gymnasts would be competing in the Olympic Games today without their constant dedication and drive to do well and make it to the level they are at today.
However, these gymnasts cannot do it all on their own. They are supported and pushed by not only themselves, but their parents, family, friends and coaches. The United States women’s gymnastics team recently won their second straight gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in the team competition. Gymnasts Simone Biles and Aly Raisman also took home the gold and silver medals in the women’s all-around event finals. These outstanding ladies could not have won their medals without the national team coordinator and former coach, Marta Karolyi.
Ms. Karolyi is a legend in the gymnastics world. She led the 1996 Olympic team to gold in the team all-around competition as their head coach. In 2001, Karolyi was named the U.S. National Team Coordinator after her husband, Bela Karolyi was asked to leave. Ms. Karolyi has had many duties as the national team coordinator for the United States, including the selection of athletes for competitions, recommending skills and routines to gymnasts and their coaches and determining where competitors stand in the line-up for each apparatus in competition.
Marta Karolyi has had anything but an easy job. I cannot begin to think how hard it has been for her to go through the line-up of gymnasts competing at world competitions and Olympic Trials, looking at each of their individual and combined scores for vault, floor exercise, balance beam and the uneven bars, and choosing which handful of ladies will go on to represent the United States of America in the next competition. Each lady competing brings something different to the table, and thankfully Ms. Karolyi has been given the ability to see that.
Without Ms. Karolyi’s knowledge of the skills and gymnastics as a whole, we would not have the incredible “Final Five” representing the United States at the Olympic Games this year. She was able to show off Madison Kocian’s talent on the uneven bars, Laurie Hernandez’s artistic talent on the balance beam, Gabby Douglas’ power on vault, Aly Raisman’s flair for the floor exercise and Simone Biles’ incredible skills for the sport of gymnastics. Ms. Karolyi was able to recognize each of their talents and construct a winning team to represent this grand country the best way she knows how.
Thank you, Ms. Karolyi, for not only choosing these five incredibly talented young ladies to represent our country, but for choosing the other gifted ladies to participate in the 2004, 2008, 2012 Olympic Games, and all of the other ladies you have coached and chosen to represent our country on the world stage. All of these ladies, as well as yourself, have served as role models for young girls and women everywhere to follow their dreams. You have shown us through your work, through the ladies you chose to be seen on the world stage, that following your heart and a whole lot of hard work is the way to accomplish the dreams you have set for yourself.
Thank you, Marta, for your dedication, strong work ethic and perseverance for making yourself and others important role models from the sport of women’s gymnastics. You and the teams you have constructed have proven to be great heroes for many young girls in the United States and all over the world.
