Do you know anyone who has been to the Olympics?
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Anonymous
Tom Dolan is a rock star!! |
Anonymous
Oh yeah- I forgot about him. |
Anonymous
| I had a coach growing up who had won a gold medal at the Olympics when he was younger. He came sort of out of nowhere to win and has an interesting life story, so he was semi-famous for a while afterward. He made some money doing motivational speaking for a few years after the Games where he won, but by the time he was my coach he was pretty broke. He was going back to school to get a degree so he could have an actual career (I grew up in a college town). He has been in and out of coaching over the years. I just Googled and look like he is back in it with a good position. I am happy for him. He had a big influence on my life. |
Anonymous
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One runner, one field hockey player.
Neither have made much money since leaving sport - one went into amateur coaching and the other is in marketing, both are in normal, happy-enough marriages and have always been good and kind people. Both struggled with mental health challenges after retiring, one was quite open about her struggle during her athletic career as well and the other one it seemed to be mostly after retiring. I think it is hard because you have to be singularly focused to have a chance at success, and it can be very psychologically difficult when you either don't succeed after devoting all your time or moving on when your entire identity was your athleticism. |
Anonymous
| Several track and field athletes. Most had nothing but positive things to say. Great opportunity when young. Great way to see the world and make a living. T&F is huge in Europe. Many went in to play professional soccer/football etc. |
Anonymous
| I don't know why nobody is willing to name names. I am friends with Amy Chow. She's shy, but lovely, and wicked smart. Her children are very well-behaved. When they're naughty it's more like they're being cheeky, not like they're bratty. |
Anonymous
Amy Chow is a legend! I was on a team with Dominique Dawes back when she first started competing, although I quit before she went to her first Olympics. |
Anonymous
| Yes, ski team for various countries. Diving for the USA; skating-USA. Javelin-Nigeria |
Anonymous
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Yes, a relative.
He did not do well at the Olympics. Our country never does in that sport. He is also a scholar and has done fine in life. He is happy. |
Anonymous
Because not everyone thinks our own anonymity is a reason to disclose someone else's life story. I'm glad Amy Chow has a lovely family. |
Anonymous
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A high school classmate didn't go to the Olympics because we didn't go to USSR.
He probably would have done extremely well since he was a world class track and field athlete with scads of world records at the time. |
Anonymous
| I live in the DC area now but grew up in Northern CA and we had lots of Olympic athletes in our town - primarily from aquatics (swimming and water polo). One of them was my summer swim team coach. All great kids that grew up to be wonderful adults and are still involved in the sport in some fashion. |
Anonymous
| You can see Maurice Smith at Langley HS on a regular basis train other young athletes in running. He is a 4 times Olympian and a silver medal at the world championship in decathlon. |
Anonymous
I had a high school classmate who was also a world class athlete that didn’t get to go and it cost him 15 or so years of devastation. Was a total mess and only really got his life back together when he was about 40. Was sad but he at least bounced back in the end and is doing ok now. |
Anonymous
| Yes, a few runners and rowers. All live fairly normal lives, probably in part because those sports don't garner as much attention as some others. |