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19 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
That was 6 minutes well spent. 
...
But perhaps the most notable feature of Ohashi’s routine was the sheer joy she exuded, which starkly contrasted with the revelations she made this August about her decision to step back from her Olympic dreams several years ago after the sport left her “broken.”
...
Though it may seem hard to believe based on the video, gymnastics was not always a source of happiness for Ohashi. Born in Seattle, Ohashi spent four years on USA Gymnastics' junior national team. In 2013, she won the American Cup, beating teammate Simone Biles, who would go on to become a four-time Olympic champion. But in a Players' Tribune video, titled “I Was Broken,” Ohashi details her emotional journey away from that elite gymnastics scene.
“There was a time where I was on top of the world, an Olympic hopeful,” Ohashi narrates. “I was unbeatable, until I wasn’t.”
Ohashi went on to describe the intense pressure she faced competing at the elite level — fans telling her “she wasn’t good enough,” constantly stressing about what she ate and being compared to “a bird that couldn’t fly.” In video clips of her at meets during that time, Ohashi rarely had a smile on her face. When she finally made the decision to retire from elite gymnastics with the hopes of becoming a college athlete, she had been competing with a fractured back and two torn shoulders.
“It took me finding Ms. Val [Kondos Field] and UCLA and having a different goal and path to follow, to finally find joy and love within the sport again,” Ohashi said in the video, adding, “I haven’t been able to feel this type of happiness in a long time.”
She continued: “It’s not the outcome. It’s not me standing on the podium with medals. It’s me being able to walk out with a smile on my face and truly being happy with myself.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/01/14/isnt-enough-this-ucla-gymnasts-flawless-floor-routine-just-broke-internet/?utm_term=.e3bd8c3ff058&tid=sm_tw&__twitter_impression=true
But perhaps the most notable feature of Ohashi’s routine was the sheer joy she exuded, which starkly contrasted with the revelations she made this August about her decision to step back from her Olympic dreams several years ago after the sport left her “broken.”
...
Though it may seem hard to believe based on the video, gymnastics was not always a source of happiness for Ohashi. Born in Seattle, Ohashi spent four years on USA Gymnastics' junior national team. In 2013, she won the American Cup, beating teammate Simone Biles, who would go on to become a four-time Olympic champion. But in a Players' Tribune video, titled “I Was Broken,” Ohashi details her emotional journey away from that elite gymnastics scene.
“There was a time where I was on top of the world, an Olympic hopeful,” Ohashi narrates. “I was unbeatable, until I wasn’t.”
Ohashi went on to describe the intense pressure she faced competing at the elite level — fans telling her “she wasn’t good enough,” constantly stressing about what she ate and being compared to “a bird that couldn’t fly.” In video clips of her at meets during that time, Ohashi rarely had a smile on her face. When she finally made the decision to retire from elite gymnastics with the hopes of becoming a college athlete, she had been competing with a fractured back and two torn shoulders.
“It took me finding Ms. Val [Kondos Field] and UCLA and having a different goal and path to follow, to finally find joy and love within the sport again,” Ohashi said in the video, adding, “I haven’t been able to feel this type of happiness in a long time.”
She continued: “It’s not the outcome. It’s not me standing on the podium with medals. It’s me being able to walk out with a smile on my face and truly being happy with myself.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/01/14/isnt-enough-this-ucla-gymnasts-flawless-floor-routine-just-broke-internet/?utm_term=.e3bd8c3ff058&tid=sm_tw&__twitter_impression=true
I'm glad she found her joy!
