Girl Power

I wish, I hope my students are watching the Olympics. There is so much girl power going on in Rio right now it's setting the world on fire! I have been watching for the past two days and I am so proud of all the athletes, but I can't help but think of the role models these young women athletes are for girls all over the world.

Did you know the first medal of the Olympics was won by a 19-year-old American girl? Ginny Thrasher (how cool is that name for an Olympian?) is a shooter who pulled what was considered to be an upset over the shooter from China. She won gold in the 10 meter air rifle and set a new record.

Dana Vollmer, who won the bronze medal in the 100 meter butterfly, is the first American woman to medal in the Olympics after having a baby. She has a baby not even a year old.

Ibtihaj Muhammad is the first Muslim to compete on Team USA wearing a hijab. She wanted to play sports as a kid and she chose fencing because it was one of the few she could play without compromising her cultural beliefs. I hope she wins!

Katie Ledecky, one of the youngest Olympians on Team USA won her 400 freestyle swim today, taking first place and breaking the olympic record, and her own world record- twice! First she took the record in the qualifying round and then broke it in the finals where she took gold by a landslide!

And let's not forget the Team USA women's gymnastics team. They are so above and beyond the rest of the world in talent, that they're a shoe in for the team medal. Ally Reisman is the reigning all around champion and Simone Biles, a 4'8" dynamo is in first place for the individual all around. She was born to a drug addict mom and she and her sister were adopted by and raised by her grandparents.  She is arguably the best ever in the sport of gymnastics, not even taking into account the increase in difficulty over the years.

Image retrieved from Angelo.edu

And it's not just the American women...

The gold medalist in 100 butterfly was a woman from Sweden who is the first female swimmer in her country to medal in swimming. Not only did she win gold but she broke the world record during the race. Imagine that? All in one race, she broke the world record, won an Olympic gold, and brought home the first medal in swimming for her country. WOW!

The Chinese synchronized springboard diving team included a woman who has dominated the event with gold medals in the last five Olympics!

The Romanian women's gymnastics team consists of a single gymnast who is 28 years old. She came out of retirement to represent her country in the Rio Olympics because there were no healthy and/or talented enough gymnasts to form a team. She has the potential to medal in balance beam.

And get this... one of the women on the Uzbekistan gymnastics team is 41 years old! She has competed in 7 Olympics! Most of the other members of her team are around her son's age, 16!

I know there are many more. All the Olympic athletes are so impressive in their drive and commitment to be the best in their sports. Each of them has an individual story and I am so impressed with the power of these women, American and otherwise.