Therapy was Part of the Preparation

The All-Around Gold Medal Gymnastic winner told Good Morning America, “Staying on my weekly therapy sessions and even whenever I was here, I was scheduling appointments with my therapist that could work, whether it was early in the morning for me or early in the morning for her,” Biles said, speaking about how she’s balanced everything at the Games. “Staying on top of that meant the world to me, but also it helped me with my performances.”

Dr. Marcia Faustin (aka Dr. Marcy) was one of the women supporting the USA Gymnastics Team.

You might remember the scandal involving the doctor who was supposed to be the medical advisor to the Olympic gymnasts. The new team comprises Dr. Ellen Casey and Dr. Marcia Faustin, who share the USA Gymnastics Team Doctor title. Dr. Marcy looked after Bile’s calf issue during the qualifying round. She also helped Lee get appropriately diagnosed and find treatment for her kidney issues. But this kind of support helped the team get to the gold.

 Pretty was Not Integral to the Performance

When Biles received criticism about her hair, it seemed reminiscent of Gabby Douglas’s judgment when she competed. Douglas was sixteen in 2016, and those comments went straight to her heart. Biles is 27, a seasoned competitor who responded, “The next time you want to comment on a Black girl’s hair, JUST DON’T.”

Celebrating Sisterhood Beyond Borders

The 2024 Gymnastic Floor Exercise Medal Ceremony was an International Black Girl Magic Moment for the ages. Because it was spontaneous, genuine, well-deserved, and an example of sisterhood. Rebecca Andrade delivered a flawless performance, and Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles knew they were part of a historic moment. It needed to be acknowledged.

A Balanced Career: Athlete and Healthcare Pro

When you see Gabby Thomas race, you can’t imagine she has time for anything else. However, the 200-meter sprinter who has already taken home gold from this year’s games and won two previous medals in Tokyo still makes time to work part-time in health care. Thomas has an undergraduate degree in neurobiology from Harvard and a master’s in public health from the University of Texas Health Science Center. Thomas volunteers her time at a clinic for uninsured people. The sprinter told CNBC, “The way I became successful in track and field was running track part-time,” she said. “And I think that’s really important for my mental health, just having other things in my life that helped fulfill, you know, my goals and make me feel fulfilled.”

Break Your Own Records

In the 400-meter hurdles, 25-year-old Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone isn’t racing against anyone else on the field. She is trying to beat the clock. McLaughlin-Levrone had already shattered the world record five times. She kept her eye on the hurdles in this race and left the field in the dust. She broke her world record for the sixth time by completing 400 meter hurdles in 50:37 and Won Olympic gold for the second time.

 A Golden Redemption

Almost four years ago, long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall struggled with body image issues and bouts of depression so debilitating it was difficult for her to get out of bed. Although she had been an athlete since childhood, she no longer wanted to train. “Mentally, I was in a dark place,” Davis-Woodhall said at a media roundtable in New York earlier this year. “I just didn’t want to be here anymore.” The domino effect of transferring schools to COVID-19, recovering from a fractured back, and trying to connect with her new teammates had taken its toll.

“She also said this spring that she got more comfortable with her body image, embracing the more muscular arms and shoulders she used to hide under a hoodie in high school.”

“I couldn’t be myself for a while, and it sucked. It sucks not being able to just be free,” she said. “And now that I am, I am not going back.”

By being herself, Davis-Woodhall won her first Gold medal jumps 22 feet, 9 inches, 23-1 3/4, and 23-3 1/2.

It’s Hammer Time

We must shout Annette Echikunwoke for her strength and skill in throwing the hammer. This is a track event in which athletes throw the “hammer,” a ball attached to a grip by a steel wire. But she is the first American to ever medal in this sport—she won gold!

Black Women are Integral to Creating Winning Teams

We are excited that four Black women, anchored by Sha’Carri Richardson, won gold in the 4×100 relay. It’s the 12th time we’ve won, but we know sisters from other countries are on our heels. However, including Gabby Thomas in the runners’ lineup increased their likelihood of securing a win.

Black women are integral to team wins throughout the Olympic Games from gymnastics to swimming. But to see us represented in events like fencing, where Lauren Scruggs, the first Black woman to win an individual medal in foil, is indeed magical. She won a silver medal in the finals against her teammate, Lee Keifer. Then, Scruggs was the anchor when the team played against Italy and helped them win gold. She’s 21 and a first-time Olympian, to boot.

Let’s continue to take our magic and talents to new horizons and conquer them.

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Fred Newhouse’s Road to the Olympics

In 1976, while working at Exxon and simultaneously competing in track and field, Fred won Olympic Gold and Silver Medals at the Montreal Olympic Games. He has been involved in track and field in some capacity for his entire life and currently serves on the Meet Management Teams for national and international competitions.

Newhouse has earned a lot of success in the sport, but it was not easy by any means. Even just making it to the Olympics was a process. He tried out for three Olympic teams in 1960, 1968, and 1972 before he was ultimately selected in 1976. Newhouse says that going through the adversity of making it to the Olympics is all part of the process. But it was his drive that helped him persevere.

The Olympic Preparation Process

“Unfortunately, like in any other sport, some days are better than others. And our system is designed around one day for track and field for each event,” he said. “And you know well in advance what that day will be, and you prepare. So it doesn’t matter what you do all the other days. What you do on the day of the Olympic trials matters. So it’s all about you.”

The Olympics’ preparation process differs from that of other sporting events. Most sports operate seasonally, with a scheduled offseason for the athletes to recoup. But the training for the Olympics is nonstop. Newhouse says that for him and many other Olympic athletes, the preparation for the event begins as early as high school.

“Preparation takes years and years and years for most athletes. And it starts, for most, me included, in high school, if not before. That’s when they first realize that they have the potential to be an Olympic athlete. And that is where it begins—and it’s every day for years,” Newhouse said.

“After that, a competition is staged where the 16 best runners in the country are invited to try out for the Olympic team. Of those, 16 will make it to the finals. There are three rounds of competition: prelims, quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the finals. And then the top three are who go on to represent the country at the Olympic Games.”

Putting His Olympic Experience to Use

Fred could have taken his experience as an Olympic gold medalist, rode off into the sunset, and retired. However, he knew he had so much knowledge to offer in the sport and wanted to share that with other athletes.

He used that experience to found the Northwest Flyers Youth Track Club in Houston, where he coached until 1996.

Fred already had previous experience as a track coach. While earning his MBA at the University of Washington, he was the track team’s graduate assistant and coached sprinters, jumpers, and quarter-milers.

However, the catalyst for his founding the Northwest Flyers was when his daughters noted unfair treatment at the initial club they joined. Then, Newhouse and his wife decided to bet on themselves.

“My daughter says, ‘We don’t like this coach because he doesn’t even put the best girls on the relay team in the track club,” Newhouse said. “And my wife looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t we have a track club?’ ‘So we know there’s no bias in the process.”

Newhouse’s club has employed as many as 100 athletes simultaneously. Simply put, the Flyers gave him purpose.

“It was just the joy of my life. To provide an atmosphere where these kids could grow and enjoy each other. We tried to, again, continue to expose them to different things,” he said. “And we always did. And that gave them exposure to other parts of the country. We traveled to a lot of different universities. They got to see things that they only saw on television. And we figured out a way to do it.”

The Life Lessons He Wants Them to Remember

As a former Olympian, Newhouse possesses a rare knowledge of what it takes to be successful in track and field competition. He instilled some of those same principles into his Northwest Flyers athletes.

“We “encourage our athletes to recognize their assets and liabilities and manage them all appropriately. And you know them when you see them and know what to do. Do them humbly, with courtesy and respect for others, because you have to do them,” he said. “The sooner you start learning how to manage them, the better. Because later in life, when it takes a much larger effort, you’ll do better at it.”

Newhouse’s coaching goes beyond just telling athletes what to do. It is also about teaching them what not to do. He wanted to prepare athletes in his club to avoid making the same mistakes he did on his come-up, mainly how to avoid distractions.

“The main problem I see as an athlete’s biggest battle is all the distractions vying for their attention during that process. They have to be ready to manage additional things on top of their competition,” he” said. “The most difficult part is staying focused on the why. Why are you doing this? Because you’ve got so many distracting things around you.”

Measuring His Successes

Not every athlete will make it to the Olympic Trials. However, Newhouse says that even the athletes from his club who don’t have Olympic careers are successful in other areas of life, such as graduating from college or starting a business. That was his vision when he started the club, which remains a success today.

“We’ve got something extraordinary going on, and we’re going to continue because we know we’re making a difference in people’s lives. We know we are,” he added.

“We’re not bragging about it. We’re happily doing it. Right. And while it started as a selfish thing with our children, it also made a difference in their lives. Because they developed friendships, relationships that have lasted for 40 years.”

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