The Olympics has come and gone. As usual, I have the feeling that it was all too short. Also as usual, I felt there were plenty of inspiring moments and learning opportunities. Many of these overlapped.
While I’m not going to give an exhaustive list, I’m going to share a few of the top lessons I saw at the Olympics and why they are going to stick with me.
Be your own best advocate
Alysa Liu or Amber Glenn individually would be a force to be reckoned with in figure skating for sticking up for themselves and, notably, for their competitors. Together, I hope they can shape the future of their sport. It was amazing to see them take a stand for themselves, to advocate for themselves and their fellow skaters. Combined with Eileen Gu, who turned an attempted “gotcha” question from a reporter into a great lesson on being proud of your accomplishments, and others, this definitely seemed like an Olympics where athletes were standing up for themselves.
Do it your way
To be honest, there was so much I liked about Alysa Liu as I learned more about her, through watching the Olympics, my daughter telling me what she knew about her, and reading articles on her.
After the past Olympics, at the age of 16, Liu retired from the sport. The fire was gone. She went on to do some other things and then found her way back to the sport. When she did come back, she had some preconditions. In short, she was going to do it her way. She was going to be involved in all decisions, if not making them herself. No more having others tell her everything she should do. She took charge of who she was, as a person and as a competitor.
She also went into the Olympics saying she was there to have fun. She wasn’t concerned about medals or what place she finished at all. She was there for the experience. While she obviously worked incredibly hard and undoubtedly wanted to do her absolute best, she wasn’t putting pressure on herself to meet some arbitrary expectations. As I told my daughter, I think that was a big part of why she ended up winning the gold. She didn’t put pressure on herself to win so she could have fun, go in loose and relaxed, and not be overwhelmed by the pressure.
Keep trying
Mikaela Shiffrin had the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was a young prodigy, winning Olympic titles at a young age. Then, after suffering a personal tragedy, she went into the 2022 Olympics as a heavy favorite and came home with no medals. She came into the 2026 Olympics as quite possibly the best skier in history but with that Olympic history hanging over her. In her first two events, she came out with no medals again.
Then, in her final event, she came through in a huge way. She dominated the field to win the goal by a large margin. She was nearly flawless in her two runs and left no doubt. It was wonderful to see and it was a testament to her persistence. She kept going for it, kept taking risks, and fortunately it eventually paid off.
When things aren’t going your way, keep fighting
Shiffrin definitely embodied this. However, when this really clicked for me was during the men’s hockey gold medal game. Team USA got outplayed by Canada throughout most of the game. It felt like it wasn’t even close. It seemed like Canada controlled the entire game. However, Team USA played a scrappy game, got a great game from their goaltender, and in overtime found the opportunity they needed. They wouldn’t have been in the position to win this game, though, without fighting for everything when it looked like they couldn’t get anything going.
They kept fighting, kept hanging around, and when the opportunity to win came they were ready. A great lesson for all of us to close out the Olympics.