Watch that athlete!
Olympic fans fully expect some athletes to win first prize. Think of gymnast wonder Simone Biles and swimming champ Katie Ledecky. Both are 27 years old and at the top of their sports. But other talented athletes won people’s hearts over the past week too.
Moms Are in the House
Egypt’s fencer Nada Hafez thrust her foil to beat the United States. Then she lost to South Korea. She wasn’t just sword fighting during those matches. Mrs. Hafez said online that she was “carrying a little Olympian.” She is seven months pregnant. Mrs. Hafez also has a degree in medicine. That’s one strong, fencing, doctor mom!
Ready, aim, fire. South Korea’s Kim Yeji is an expert at shooting an air pistol. Look closely. She has a stuffed toy elephant strapped to her belt. It belongs to her five-year-old daughter. Ms. Kim won second place in a shooting event. Another South Korean, Oh Ye-jin, won first prize. Ms. Kim says of Ms. Oh, “She is like my little sister. . . . So when she won the gold medal, I was extra happy.”
One Event Wonder
Many say U.S. gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik is the Superman of his sport. He looks like Clark Kent when he wears his glasses. He removes them to swing his body quickly around the pommel horse. That is Mr. Nedoroscik’s only event. He doesn’t do floor routines or swing on rings or bars like other male gymnasts. But he is very gifted on the pommel horse. He helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team earn its first Olympic medal in 16 years. The members won the bronze!
Surprise Rugby Win
Rugby sevens first appeared as an Olympic sport in 2016. Two teams of seven players compete for two seven-minute halves. Each team works to get the ball up the field to score a try (worth five points). The U.S. women’s rugby team has never won an Olympic medal in a game—until now. Player Alex Sedrick avoided two tacklers. She sprinted across the field for a last-minute score. Then Ms. Sedrick had to kick the ball through two posts. She is not the team’s kicker! But she sent the ball sailing. And the U.S. team walked away with the bronze medal.
Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. — 1 Corinthians 9:25
