I’ve Been Training for the Olympics, and Pushing the Games Back Was the Right Call
The Games would hardly be a celebration if some athletes had to endanger themselves to train.
When I was 6 and my dad took me to see the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, I wondered what it would feel like to be an Olympian. Twenty years later, I found out.
I arrived at the 2016 Rio Olympics ready to compete for Greece in the 10,000-meter track race. I was proud but mostly nervous as I waited for my event, which was scheduled for several days after the opening ceremony. Then, when I was finally on the starting line for my race, the Olympic feeling clicked. My competitors and I stood together, surrounded by cameras and tens of thousands of cheering spectators. The athlete next to me helped me adjust a pin on my bib, and I felt like she was the maid of honor fixing my dress
