On Sunday night the torch in Paris was extinguished to close out the 2024 Olympic Games. The world came together as it does every 4 years to watch the most talented athletes compete. Our eyes are captivated by the astounding capabilities of the human body while our hearts are captivated by the strength of the human spirit that laid a foundation for perseverance. During these Olympics I was especially captivated by the strong women who have allowed their hearts to be on display, and in the process, have inspired hope and courage. 
In 2021 during the Tokyo Olympics, I wrote one of my most read blogs about Simone Biles’ courage to be vulnerable in front of the whole world and honor her mental health. As she made a comeback this Olympics at the age of 27, I am compelled to finish the story. As a refresher, in 2021 she was expected to sweep the competition but instead had to pull out of all but the balance beam final due to a case of the twisties– when the body and brain of a gymnast lose the ability to communicate with each other. All of the pressures and traumas from her life caused her body to finally reach its limit. Critics called her a quitter and a disgrace to her team, not understanding that if an elite level gymnast attempts to do their skills while not knowing where they are in the air, they can end up permanently paralyzed or dead.
In the Netflix documentary, Rising, Simone tells her story of fighting the “demons” both during and after Tokyo. The voice of the haters on social media was greater in her head than the voice of her supporters, and she had to fight hard to stay focused on her next steps. She took a break from gymnastics, started therapy, got married and discovered her identity apart from a world-renowned gymnast. In 2023 she decided to train for another Olympic run and redeem her experience in Tokyo. The work on her mental health that she had done outside of the gym became evident as she persevered with courage and her body and brain came back in sync- so much so that she can throw that jaw-dropping triple twisting double back in her floor routine! She led the US team to gold and won the All-Around Gold Olympic Gold Medal for the third time, plus two additional medals making her the most decorated American Olympic gymnast ever. If you needed some evidence that taking care of your mental health makes a difference, Simone brought it! 
At this Olympic Games where there was gender parity for the first time ever with an equal number of male and female athletes, we got to see several stories of strong women who overcame. Other gymnasts include Suni Lee was struck with two different kidney disorders which made continuing gymnastics unlikely, however, with courage and determination, she made it to the podium with Simone by winning the bronze for the all-arounds. Jordan Chiles suffered from injuries and the loss of her grandfather in 2023 whom she credited for inspiring her to keep going. She said in an interview, “It’s taught me that as many things that have been thrown at me in life that God created me to be the strongest person that I needed to be.” Chiles and Biles exhibited honor and humility by bowing to Brazilian gold medalist, Rebecca Andrade, during the medal ceremony for the floor event final. (The saga about the bronze medal in that event could be another blog in itself!) Rebecca overcame her own challenges of tearing her ACL 3 times in the past 4 years. As I watched that with my boys I said, “Now that boys, is the type of sportsmanship and respect that we need to see more of in sports!” It takes a woman of strong character to support another strong woman with humility and grace.
The trend that I noticed amongst all of the strong women is that they have courage and know that they aren’t defined by their critics. Ilona Maher of the US women’s rugby team is an influencer on social media and uses that as a platform for body positivity. When one critic questioned her BMI, she responded with wit and proud ownership of her muscular build. Her confidence helps other women to embrace the diversity of body types and celebrate all that our bodies can do. Oh, and Ilona also led her team to the bronze- the first medal ever won by US women’s rugby and the first medal won by US rugby period in 100 years! Then we have 400 m hurdles gold medalist, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who boldly shares her Christian faith and uses her success as an opportunity to shine her light and bring glory to God. Getting less media attention, 55-year-old Georgian shooter, Nino Salukvadze, didn’t let age limit her from competing in her tenth Olympic games! The last that I will mention is the Ukrainian twins, Maryna and Vladyslava Aleksiiva, who literally risked their lives to practice artistic swimming at a facility near a target of Russian attacks, often interrupted with needing to flee to a bomb shelter. The list goes on, but the consistent threat is that these strong women embraced their whole selves and exercised faith rather than fear. As a result, they inspire us to do the same.
I will close on the note that competition can be healthy and energizing, but comparison and criticism leads to shame. And shame lies to women about their worth, leaving them feeling defeated. On the contrary, when we celebrate the beauty and greatness that we see in each other, we are empowered to live freely as we were uniquely created, and with that power, we bring hope, strength and beauty to our world!
Sources:
https://olympics.com/en/news/jordan-chiles-exclusive-challenges-paris-olympics
https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-nino-salukvadze-21323e00d8aa95b388ac1d7f060726c0
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/after-war-threatened-to-derail-their-preparation-these-twins-are-on-an-olympic-mission-to-serve-ukraine/ar-AA1ovlUX