#14. Aly Raisman Wins Floor Gold
A couple weeks before the Olympics began, I stumbled upon a documentary series on Comcast Sportsnet called, "Aly Raisman: Quest for Gold". Being the Olympics nut that I am, I made sure to catch each of the three episodes, which profiled US Gymnast Alexandra Raisman's road from the 2011 World Championships to the Olympic Trials. Raisman came off very well in the documentary. She was hard working and down to earth. While Raisman declared that her goal was to be on the Olympic team, there was no pretension about it. She believed her ability, but seemed happy and humbled to even be in the position to make the Olympic team. From that moment, she was not just another Olympian, but someone I wanted to root for.
Fast forward to the second week of the Olympics, and life was going pretty well for Aly Raisman. She was an Olympic champion, a surprise all around participant (finishing fourth) and was qualified for two event finals. After finishing third in the balance beam final (by petitioning her lowered start value), Raisman competed in finals of floor exercise. Considered a favorite going into the competition, Raisman put together one of the best floor routines of her life to take the gold medal. While the routine was fantastic, the thing I'll always remember was the smile Raisman displayed when she finally claimed victory. At the risk of sounding over the top, or even a bit weird, the thing I liked about that smile was the purity of it. It was from an athlete who had put in all the work to be a champion, and finally was able to do it on an individual level. You can't fake a smile like that, it just comes out of raw emotion. After being the leader, the rock, the surprise, just on the outside and then just on the inside, Aly Raisman was finally, golden.
Quest complete.
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