FILE - United States’ Ashton Eaton gets a hug from his mother Roslyn Eaton, as his fiancee Brianne Theisen looks on, after winning the decathlon during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. Athletes at the last Summer Olympics remember the unmistakable sadness and longing of competing with nearly no one in the stands, thanks to pandemic-era restrictions in Tokyo three years ago.
Yes, winning a medal is the goal. That’s what pushes the swimmers and sprinters, the gymnasts and judokas, and everyone else, during the long hours of training and the years it takes to get to an Olympic level.“You’re not doing it for money. You’re not doing it for fame. You’re doing it for the people you love. You’re doing it for your country. You’re doing it for yourself, as well.
Ben Hallock, the U.S. men’s water polo captain, described it this way: “Everyone’s like, ‘I’m booking! I’m coming!’”Having a large group on hand could lead to a sense of needing to succeed for everyone else, which might be inspiring.“I do owe it to anyone who supports me — my sponsors, my friends, my family, my coach — to do my best and medal, essentially,” said, a sprinter who collected a bronze in the 200 meters in Tokyo and made the U.S. team in that event again for Paris.