My favorite athlete from the Olympics continues to inspire.
Tamyra Mensah-Stock became only the second American female wrestler ever to take gold and the first Black female wrestler to do so.
Mensah-Stock’s story is filled with the type of feel-good, made-for-TV-movie moments that make it dusty when you watch. (Or as my daughter asks, “Daddy, are your eyes sweating?”)
She lost her father, who died in a car crash coming home from one of her wrestling meets. She won the U.S. Olympic trials before the 2016 Rio Games but did not get to go because the U.S. had not qualified in her weight class, so she went to Rio anyway to work as a training partner for those who qualified in other weight classes.
And best yet, amid all the COVID-19 distractions and protests of these Olympics, Mensah-Stock won gold and afterward shared a love for her country that was awe-inspiring. Amid tears and sobs, she touched all the buttons – from family to goals to being an example of patriotism for all female competitors.