This year, over ten thousand Olympians competed in the Paris Olympics. Out of those, only a few received worldwide recognition for their outstanding accomplishments. These people worked day and night to achieve their dreams, and to some PHS students, that makes them an inspiration.
“A great Olympian is someone who strives for success,” junior Kaitlin Diver said. “They put in the hours every day.”
These qualities are evident in Diver’s favorite Olympian, Katie Ledecky. According to a Fox News interview, Ledecky trains for approximately 25-35 hours a week. She generally swims about 10 times a week for about 2 hours at a time.
“[Ledecky] never takes a day off,” Diver said. “She works really hard and it pays off. She is also a swimmer like me.”
While Diver values good work ethic, other people think that personality and good character are just as important.
“I feel like when most people think ‘good Olympian’ they think about how good they are at their sport and while, yes that plays a factor, that’s not what I think about,” freshman Rylan Gillett said. “I think who is overall just a good person, not just if they are good in their sport.”
Gillett’s favorite Olympian is gymnast Simone Biles. Biles has 7 Olympic medals, but she is better known for her care of her mental health, taking the 2020 Olympics off to focus on it. One of the other members of her team, Jordan Chiles, stayed in gymnastics because of Simone’s kindness.
“Simone Biles has not only won 7 medals, but she also has a good attitude and a good personality,” Gillett said. “Simone has stuck up for her teammates and has been positive no matter what.”
For other students, the humor factor of an Olympian counts just as much as their skill.
“Stephen Nedoroscik is my favorite Olympian,” senior Nayeli Esparza said. “He showed up, took off his glasses, and won a bronze medal.”
Nedoroscik has been named the Specialist for his skills on the pommel horse. He won the bronze medal in the pommel horse event, a first in sixteen years for the U.S. He is also a great guy.
“He went to mostly cheer on his teammates,” Esparza said. “He is really supportive of his teammates.”
The Olympics are a time for athletes to show off their best qualities. It allows people to connect and see their nation’s best athletes to compete.
“The Olympics are important because hard work, teamwork, and sportsmanship are important values that everybody needs to have in life,” freshman Reina Hansen said. “The Olympics are a great example of that.”
