Day 9: En Route to Gold - Jordan Chiles & Suni Lee
Update: 2024-08-04
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Driven to excellence by each other, Team USA’s women’s gymnastics team has captured Gold.
Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee share the evolution of their friendship with every TikTok video, personal style choice and of course jaw-dropping performance. No matter the subject, this conversation is moving!
Listen to In the Village daily from the ground in Paris as host Elizabeth Beisel takes you into the most exclusive areas of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to explore the daily life of athletes, complete with all the funny, mundane and unexpected things you learn off the field of play.
Follow the show on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music or your favorite podcast platform. And watch and listen to every moment of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games July 26 – August 11 on NBC & Peacock, AND for the first time ever- on the iHeart app
Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee share the evolution of their friendship with every TikTok video, personal style choice and of course jaw-dropping performance. No matter the subject, this conversation is moving!
Listen to In the Village daily from the ground in Paris as host Elizabeth Beisel takes you into the most exclusive areas of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to explore the daily life of athletes, complete with all the funny, mundane and unexpected things you learn off the field of play.
Follow the show on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music or your favorite podcast platform. And watch and listen to every moment of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games July 26 – August 11 on NBC & Peacock, AND for the first time ever- on the iHeart app
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Transcript
00:00:00
If you could give me a level check, that would be great.
00:00:03
I'm Elizabeth Beisel, two-time Olympic medalist, and I'm jumping the press ropes to take you inside the Olympic Village.
00:00:10
Some of the most interesting and exclusive places of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
00:00:14
We'll talk to the athletes about pretty much anything and everything other than winning medals.
00:00:19
The quirky little details of daily Olympic life that only the athletes themselves know about, because it isn't all nail-biting pressure and medal ceremonies.
00:00:26
We'll get started in three, two, one.
00:00:31
I Heart Radio is the exclusive audio home of NBC's coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
00:00:39
It's the only way to listen to exclusive NBC play-by-play action of the games, plus NBC's top Olympic moments and live hourly updates from Paris.
00:00:48
Bring the summer games with you everywhere you go.
00:00:51
Download the free I Heart app now and enable push notifications for live updates from Paris.
00:01:04
So we are in a van heading towards the Olympic Village to pick up none other than Sunnily and Jordan Childs and we're going to go on a low-car ride with them and ask them all the things.
00:01:15
Hi, I'm Elizabeth, I'm going to be the one that's kind of interviewing you today,
00:01:34
but it's more so behind the scenes like we are leaving the village going to a long day of media with you guys.
00:01:41
We're literally in a van heading there.
00:01:43
So it's going to be very casual, not a lot about kind of your performance as a gymnast, but like I want to talk about hair nails and makeup and all that stuff.
00:01:55
So with makeup for both of you, where do you get your inspiration?
00:01:59
Are you trying it out beforehand?
00:02:01
Who does it?
00:02:02
Do you have a makeup artist?
00:02:03
I don't know all the things.
00:02:05
I feel like I get a lot of my inspiration from like Hayley Bieber.
00:02:10
I love her and like her clean girl like look, so whenever it comes to like makeup I try to do as minimal as possible just because I feel like that's what looks best on me and that's what works for me and that's what makes me feel the most confident in myself.
00:02:24
So I would say her, but when it comes to like competition and stuff, I do my own makeup and like every day, I don't, Jordan, she's the real makeup girl.
00:02:35
Alright, make a clean toss.
00:02:36
I think honestly like a lot of my inspiration kind of comes from like what my Leo is, especially with competition.
00:02:44
I think the biggest thing is like if we have like this bedazzled jewel, like extravagantly I want something like very simple on my face, but like if it's the opposite, my Leo's more simple,
00:02:54
I'll go very dramatic.
00:02:55
A lot of my inspiration do come from like celebrities, obviously I've done a Beyonce, I've done you know.
00:03:03
I think Hayley Beaver was one of them I've done before is you know, it just, it just depends on what my mood is, but when I do like red carpet looks and stuff, I actually have my older sister, she does my H and U.
00:03:14
It's really cool having somebody in the family who can travel with you wherever you go and kind of just, you know, explore and she kind of, I just let her do her thing when it comes to that so like a full trust.
00:03:24
Yeah, of course she's a sister.
00:03:26
Yeah, I'm like go for it, go do you.
00:03:29
So here at the Olympics, she's not in the village with you doing your makeup.
00:03:32
No, she's not in the village.
00:03:33
I did do my makeup for team finals, everybody had this big, they're like oh my gosh, I'm going to try it at her.
00:03:39
I look, I'm like okay, like go for it, but yeah, for championship, she did my makeup, for classics, she did my makeup, so having her is really cool.
00:03:50
And so you talked about the Leo's a little bit, when you guys are in your finals as a team, do you have any input on the design for the Leo is, no, so who, do you know who designs that?
00:04:02
So yeah, our Leo company that were sponsored by the GK, they kind of put an inspiration of what the United States of America is and kind of like who we are as athletes as well.
00:04:13
I'm obviously woman empowerment is a huge thing.
00:04:16
So being able to kind of put those into their brain and creating this like extravagant but dazzled, like you know, that girl era type deal for us and a Leo is what they do.
00:04:27
And obviously, I think what their inspiration for this one was kind of to bring it back.
00:04:31
I don't know if you've seen like previous in the Rio, you can kind of see the inspo and not, but we don't have any input whatsoever.
00:04:38
But I think it's really cool knowing that, you know, a lot of it is a surprise to us because we're like oh my gosh.
00:04:44
Yeah, like I don't know if you guys saw the Leo reveal, but we are all super surprised.
00:04:48
We love them, but like Jordan was saying, I think it's really cool how they kind of designed it to not necessarily like match our personalities, but they do keep it to where like each one of the Leo's like,
00:05:02
you can look at a Leo and be like, oh my gosh, like that one's for Jordan or that one's for Hesley, like that's the cool thing and I think it makes it really fun.
00:05:10
But they've been absolutely amazing this year and I loved all the Leo's that we got.
00:05:16
Are you guys going to wear different Leo's for your individual events later on this week because you guys aren't done?
00:05:20
Yeah.
00:05:21
We're still going, baby.
00:05:22
Let's go.
00:05:23
Yeah, we are.
00:05:25
We have what three Leo's that I can choose from.
00:05:29
She has three Leo's like, we're really excited for these next few days for sure.
00:05:34
Yeah, it's going to be awesome.
00:05:35
You mentioned women empowerment and I think what the entire Women's Gymnastics team has done is just put women's sports on the map.
00:05:43
Like I feel like we're all like the up and up.
00:05:45
Like women's sports is finally getting its right and it's due.
00:05:49
Can you talk about what it means for you guys to be a part of that?
00:05:52
It means a lot.
00:05:53
I mean, it's super cool, obviously, to see a lot of people not necessarily like watching our meets, but even coming and supporting because that's the biggest thing.
00:06:01
Last Olympics, we didn't have any crowd.
00:06:04
So having this one was a dream.
00:06:06
It didn't even feel real, but to be a part of such an amazing team of women who speak up for themselves, you know, kind of stand on their ground.
00:06:15
I'm so kind of learning to do that.
00:06:16
Jordan has been a big help in that, so just because I'm like super nice and I let people kind of walk all over me.
00:06:24
So like having people that I can continuously look up to, like Jordan and Simone, Jade, all of them.
00:06:30
And even for Hesley, I think it's super important and younger girls who aren't on the team.
00:06:36
Yeah.
00:06:37
Honestly, women empowerment is amazing.
00:06:39
I think, you know, us as gymnasts, it's very, you know, hard to be like, oh my gosh.
00:06:44
Like she's doing this on the other, but, you know, we get critiqued all the time.
00:06:47
So being able to, you know, have, well, first off, 12.7 million, billion, trillion, at this way, people watching us just for team finals is already a huge thing.
00:06:57
And I think putting women on the map is even better, and especially having like people come and watch, like she was saying, we didn't get that in Tokyo and, you know, with each and every celebrity that has came and watched us,
00:07:08
it just means the world to us because it's like, oh, we're being seen.
00:07:11
You know, when it's like when a girl always says, oh my gosh, here are your flowers.
00:07:14
Like that felt like those were our flowers that we finally were able to, you know, accept and be like, okay, we've done something.
00:07:20
So I can, you know, attest to what she was saying, just knowing that, giving that inspiration to the younger generation and understanding that, just because your sport could be co-aid,
00:07:32
put yourself in a position to kind of embrace who you are in that moment as well.
00:07:36
So I think it's really cool that we're a part of it, and hopefully the younger generation can understand that, you know, everything that you do is a sacrifice.
00:07:43
If you dedicate yourself to it, and, you know, you'll have the ability to become the person you need to.
00:07:49
Yeah.
00:07:50
I think I'm more like you in terms of like a chronic people, please.
00:07:53
So we all need like a Jordan and our wife to like, gas us up.
00:07:58
Can you talk about the personalities of all of you guys on the team, like, like, who's sporty spice?
00:08:04
Like, I feel like you guys are the most hype girl band ever, so like, how would you describe each other?
00:08:09
Honestly, I would say obviously, I feel like I'm the most outgoing, like, I'm very, like, I will just walk up to somebody and be like, hey, nice to meet you, like, I don't know who you are, but it's, you know, it's really cool,
00:08:19
like, here's a pen, like, I feel like, you know, you have Simone who's done this for a very, very long time, so she understands it a little differently than we do, but having somebody like her,
00:08:30
we can be like, oh, okay, so this is how it's supposed to be run, or this is how, like, she's able to stand her ground in that position.
00:08:37
She's also very, I would say she's really spicy, yeah, she's very spicy, and she's super fun, but I feel like with her, it's also because she's had to go through a lot,
00:08:48
like, she's faced a lot of adversity, you know?
00:08:51
So all of that stuff has kind of made her into the person that she is, and it's super inspiring to see how she's kept going and just doing the things that she's doing, because I look at her every single time,
00:09:03
I'm like, oh, my gosh, like, how are you doing now?
00:09:06
But when it comes to Jordan, I would say, in my eyes, she's the ultimate hype woman, and just like the biggest supporter, it's super hard when we have to be out there by ourselves, but you can hear her skewing at the top,
00:09:17
that's why I'm like, oh, I can't find her yet.
00:09:21
Yeah, but it's funny, because I'll be down there, and I'll hear, like, come on, and I like look up and I'm like, oh, it's Jordan, because I can't find her.
00:09:27
Of course it's Jordan.
00:09:28
Of course it's Jordan.
00:09:29
Of course it's Jordan.
00:09:30
You know what?
00:09:31
and you were getting interviewed.
00:09:33
And I think you said something like a year ago, I didn't think that this would happen.
00:09:37
And you are there, and you're like, fanning her to you.
00:09:40
Because I was like, "Yeah!" "We're all TV!" "We're all TV!" "We're all TV!" And it's like the raw emotions.
00:09:47
And like, I would love to know what the bond is like, because you go through, you mentioned the criticisms earlier.
00:09:53
Like, you guys are in a sport that is under a microscope.
00:09:57
Like, everybody sees what you do.
00:10:00
So maybe advice to any athlete out there that is facing criticisms.
00:10:05
Like, what would you tell them, or how to handle those types of criticisms?
00:10:09
I would say, I learned this from Simone.
00:10:11
It's just a standard ground.
00:10:13
I think the biggest thing is knowing that you should know who you are as a person.
00:10:18
Being authentic to yourself, and you know, showing the best version of yourself wherever you're at.
00:10:23
So even with a critical, you know, those, I call them bully bots on Twitter.
00:10:27
Yeah, like the keyboard warriors.
00:10:29
They have nothing better to do.
00:10:30
Like, all you do is sit on your couch and eat potato chips, probably.
00:10:33
Like, I just, you know, for me, because I've learned it from her, just to understand, like, yes, it's going to hit you, but make it fuel you.
00:10:41
Like, so it sparked something.
00:10:43
So you can go out there and kind of, you know, perform in a different way.
00:10:47
I think that's one thing.
00:10:48
Soon, he has to learn a little.
00:10:50
'Cause she's very sensitive when it comes to, you know, those type of things, but I think having us in a position to be like, OK, look, you have to stand your ground because you know who you are.
00:11:00
They're not the one on it flipping on a four-inch piece of wood.
00:11:03
They're not the one hitting a tennis ball.
00:11:05
They're not the one, you know, going and shooting threes all the time.
00:11:08
I think that's the biggest thing is just standing your ground in, you know, being who you are.
00:11:14
Yeah, I definitely have a lot of learning to do just because I do let everything get to me and affect me.
00:11:20
But at the end of the day, like, I know that I'm the one that went out there and I did the routines.
00:11:25
I put in all the work.
00:11:27
Like, I had to face everything that I faced and I still made it here.
00:11:30
So, to even be here is an accomplished itself.
00:11:34
But, yeah, I would say the same thing just standing your ground and kind of just, I would say, like, I don't know how to put it.
00:11:43
Just like, learning the word 'no'.
00:11:45
Huge.
00:11:47
I learned it too.
00:11:48
Yeah, I think that's because, again, coming from Simone, she's just going to, oh geez, this is going to be brought up in everything and she did teach me to understand, like, the word 'no', it doesn't have to be put in such like a stern.
00:11:59
You know, it doesn't have to be like, oh, I'm saying no to you because of this on the other.
00:12:04
Like, no, I'm saying no because in a polite way, like, there's ways that you can come at me or there's ways that you can, you know, put it in a sentence to where I could be like, okay, I can see where you're coming from, but at the same time, like,
00:12:15
that still wasn't right.
00:12:16
So, that was one thing I had to learn as well because it is hard to go when somebody's, you're on Twitter, you're scrolling, you're like, oh my gosh, I did such an amazing job.
00:12:26
And the next thing you know, it's like, oh, she did this on the other.
00:12:29
She doesn't deserve this and then you're just like, and those are always the most important ones.
00:12:33
Well, yeah, and you're like, well, was that true?
00:12:35
Like, is that true?
00:12:36
And those are the things, but in my head, I'm like, no, that's not true.
00:12:41
I did that.
00:12:42
This medal belongs to me, like, you know, so I think the word 'no' is like a big thing as well.
00:12:50
I feel like it's like a respect thing to you because a lot of people just don't show respect whenever it comes to us sometimes.
00:12:57
Like, where the entertainment, y'all, where you're saying all this stuff, and you're watching us.
00:13:00
Yeah, exactly.
00:13:02
Exactly.
00:13:03
So, like, when people are like, they kind of make you feel like you have to do things for them.
00:13:06
It's just like so frustrating because we have to do this stuff.
00:13:09
Like, we still have things to do and people just don't respect that.
00:13:14
So, I don't know.
00:13:16
Yeah, you're like a fish in an aquarium and everybody has something to say about you, and it's like, you're just doing your best.
00:13:23
It's like, that's all you guys are doing.
00:13:24
That's a great announcement.
00:13:25
It's like, what are those amazing, they're beautiful.
00:13:29
It's like a beautiful beta with goldfish around you.
00:13:33
Right?
00:13:34
And you're like, all these goldfish are saying all these things.
00:13:36
When five seconds later, you don't know what's going to happen to them.
00:13:39
But you're over here, like, I'm trying to embrace these beautiful colors in me and all this stuff, so that was a good, and I like that.
00:13:46
Thank you.
00:13:47
I think I love that.
00:13:48
Yeah, I think that's what I love so most about watching you all, because you, all of your own personalities and, like, on social media, like, you guys are by far the most amazing people.
00:13:59
Like, you're queen.
00:14:01
So, even, like, before you're going out for team final, you guys are doing your little choreographed TikTok.
00:14:06
Where do you get your inspiration from that?
00:14:08
Do you have to, like, practice those beforehand?
00:14:10
Or is it just on the fly you do it right away?
00:14:12
Some of the two ducks that we've made are, like, Remakes from 2021.
00:14:16
It's just a little nostalgic.
00:14:17
Yeah.
00:14:18
And, um, I don't know.
00:14:20
I feel like we've just come such a long way now, and we're so much more mature this time around.
00:14:24
So, it's a lot more fun because we can take everything in.
00:14:27
I think Simone said in an interview that we were just, like, a little bit more naive when we were younger.
00:14:32
And I think that's so true because we just didn't really know how to take everything in the last Olympics, and also having COVID, like, we couldn't do all the fun stuff that we do now.
00:14:41
So, making TikToks and just dancing, like, letting ourselves be free, I feel like we've just been enjoying it.
00:14:48
Like, that's the biggest thing for me.
00:14:50
I just really wanted to enjoy everything this time around.
00:14:53
I can ditto that, um, honestly, we were young.
00:14:57
I mean, she was the youngest in Tokyo, like, um, yeah, we were, we were babies, but again, we didn't know what we were doing.
00:15:03
We were just following somebody's footsteps.
00:15:05
That was her second time, and we were like, okay, like, let's just follow her footsteps.
00:15:08
Like, we don't know what we're doing, but come on.
00:15:10
We make shadows, or she's doing it.
00:15:12
What's going on in the back of our heads?
00:15:14
This time, we're limping, right?
00:15:16
This is how the Olympics are, but, you know, I think, yeah, again, going this time around, we do have the ability to enjoy the Olympics.
00:15:22
The ability to enjoy the village, we get to do TikTok, we get to have fun, and all the TikToks that we do it, yeah.
00:15:27
It is from people in my comments, we're like, you and Sunni need to remake from 2021.
00:15:32
So, um, I think just having that bond and that understanding of each other, I think is the most respectful way that I feel like we've matured.
00:15:41
Yeah.
00:15:42
And do you think, like, those social media things help you guys relax before competition?
00:15:47
Is it kind of just like, Twitter?
00:15:52
I would say, I think both of Simone and Sunni had a delete Twitter.
00:15:56
Yeah.
00:15:57
So, which is very understandable, because Twitter, well, X, I should say, has gotten to a point to where no matter what you're looking at, it doesn't even have to be about you.
00:16:05
It could be about somebody else.
00:16:07
It's still very critical.
00:16:09
So, Twitter, they've had to delete.
00:16:12
I didn't delete Twitter, because all my Twitter is about Beyonce, mate, Stallion, and Camila.
00:16:18
Oh, yeah.
00:16:19
It's like, oh, like, all these people, you know, sometimes I'm like, oh, there's us.
00:16:23
Like, here we go.
00:16:24
So, I'm good on that.
00:16:26
TikTok, I think, is more of a relaxing thing.
00:16:29
Yeah, just like making them is probably not a relaxing thing.
00:16:32
It's relaxing, and I think it's like, a lot of the time we see funny things, and we're like, oh my gosh, this is funny.
00:16:36
Look at this.
00:16:37
It's like exciting, because it's like, we just plan to do them like, at the end of the day.
00:16:41
We have no TV.
00:16:42
Like, we have a TV, but like, we only can watch other sports.
00:16:46
It's only on our phones.
00:16:47
So, we can only be on our phones.
00:16:49
Right.
00:16:50
Yeah, but it's fun, because it gets us excited.
00:16:53
I mean, like, literally before the meets were always like, let's make a TikTok.
00:16:56
So, it's always impulsive.
00:16:57
You're like, all right, let's just do it.
00:16:59
We're feeling it.
00:16:59
Or like, oh man, I can't wait to make a TikTok.
00:17:02
Like, if we win, like, I have the perfect idea.
00:17:04
The best thing was the Kanye one that you guys did.
00:17:09
People asked me what I would do if I didn't win.
00:17:11
I guess you'll never know.
00:17:14
Oh my gosh, I saved that sound literally like three months ago on the prayer that I made the Olympic team stop.
00:17:21
And then you finally used it when you went out.
00:17:23
I said, man, that manifestation, man, that manifestation.
00:17:26
Yeah, seriously, it is.
00:17:27
It works.
00:17:28
Well, I was like, we did our whole experience, the two we experienced, right?
00:17:32
And we were all talking about our rings.
00:17:34
And, you know, we were like, okay, so what is our Olympic rings going to be like, what color are we going to do?
00:17:38
I said, I'm getting a gold one.
00:17:40
And I said, because we're coming back with that gold.
00:17:41
I don't know what anybody else is doing.
00:17:43
I'll be getting the gold one.
00:17:44
Why are you getting the gold?
00:17:45
And they're like, okay.
00:17:47
And is that the one that you got like through the Olympic team?
00:17:49
Yeah.
00:17:50
Where you pick like the diamonds.
00:17:51
So, what did you guys put on it?
00:17:53
There's like a gold medalist option.
00:17:55
Yeah, so I think if they add, you can have the gold medalist option.
00:18:00
If you win it.
00:18:01
Yeah, so they won't put it on if you don't.
00:18:03
If you don't.
00:18:04
Yeah.
00:18:05
So, I think we both did the fortune to care it.
00:18:09
And then, mind says.
00:18:12
Mine, because she already had a gold one, right?
00:18:15
No, I didn't get my ring.
00:18:17
But she doesn't wear gold.
00:18:18
I didn't get my ring from last Olympics.
00:18:20
So, like, who do we need to talk to about this?
00:18:23
I know, I'm so sad about it.
00:18:25
But this time, I was like, okay, I might as well just go all out.
00:18:28
But you're a silver person.
00:18:30
Yeah, I'm a silver gold.
00:18:31
I love gold.
00:18:32
I love gold.
00:18:33
Yeah.
00:18:34
What was your favorite items in your kit that you got?
00:18:39
Our favorite items in our kit?
00:18:40
Like, when you did all of your outfitting, like with the scams, Nike, Ralph Lauren, and others.
00:18:45
I'm saying Nike.
00:18:46
Nike stuff.
00:18:47
Nike, I love, like, this outfit.
00:18:48
You're like, this she and me.
00:18:50
Yeah.
00:18:51
Yeah.
00:18:52
Like, clean girl.
00:18:53
Yeah.
00:18:54
Yeah.
00:18:55
I'm going to hear, like, I could dress anything up the sneaker.
00:18:58
Like, I brought, like, four presents.
00:19:01
No.
00:19:02
I don't even know how many pairs of shoes you brought.
00:19:04
I was one, two, three, four, five, six.
00:19:08
And they're all sneakers.
00:19:09
And I'm like, yeah.
00:19:10
I brought like, four.
00:19:11
I brought like, four.
00:19:13
I brought like, four.
00:19:15
No, three pairs of, like, off-white, drawer, uh, dunks.
00:19:19
One pair of off-white Jordan ones.
00:19:21
Two pairs of Travis Scott's.
00:19:23
Mm.
00:19:24
Yeah.
00:19:25
You got money.
00:19:26
Yeah.
00:19:27
You guys.
00:19:28
That's why.
00:19:29
And I ain't got no money.
00:19:30
Half of those are gifts.
00:19:31
Those are nice gifts.
00:19:32
Um, last thing.
00:19:33
I would love for you guys to sum up what that gold medal meant to you a few days ago.
00:19:43
Oh.
00:19:44
Oh, you're going to get a little emotional here.
00:19:46
I'm going to get emotional here now.
00:19:47
Yeah.
00:19:48
Because that was really, really special what we were all able to go.
00:19:50
You can go.
00:19:51
I think it was so special for all of us because we have all dealt with a lot from 2021.
00:19:59
And even in 2021, like, dealing with that Olympics was super hard on us, because we didn't know what to expect to going in.
00:20:07
And, like, coming out of it, we didn't know what to expect either.
00:20:10
Like, we didn't know it was going to come with all of the media and, like, sponsorships and deals.
00:20:15
Like, everything family, like, it was just a lot to have to deal with.
00:20:19
And a lot of us went to college afterwards.
00:20:21
So we were just going through so much at one time and having to deal with other outside problems.
00:20:26
So to get through all of that and to just be here, I think has meant so much for us.
00:20:31
And for me, it's really special watching all of my friends kind of thrive because when you have grown up with people and just, like, watch the mature and become the person that they are,
00:20:42
it just hits so much more.
00:20:44
And when I watch, like, Jordan, or Simone, or Hezly even, like, Hezly, she's such a baby.
00:20:50
So seeing them go up through and compete, it makes me nervous for them.
00:20:53
But it just, like, you're literally giving me chills.
00:20:57
It's been such an amazing experience.
00:20:59
I mean, this one is, like, I don't even know, a lifetime is better than the other one, even though I won last time.
00:21:05
But it's just, like, this time, this gold medal has meant so much more.
00:21:11
Wow, Sonia.
00:21:14
Wow.
00:21:16
I think, for me, it was more so, like, she was saying, like, 21 was definitely a hard year.
00:21:25
To follow, I did go off to college.
00:21:27
My freshman year was not great.
00:21:29
I was dealing with coach situations at college.
00:21:32
And then the year after I lost two people in my life, like, it was just a world win.
00:21:37
I was in the hospital at least three times because of my family members.
00:21:41
One for my grandpa, he passed.
00:21:44
She passed, literally, like, four months apart from each other.
00:21:47
So I think the biggest thing is knowing that I was out here, this go around for people that I love.
00:21:53
You know, I was out here doing everything that, you know, they told me you're going to make it to pairs.
00:21:57
You're going to pairs.
00:21:58
Even after Tokyo, I was like, I didn't go back to another Olympics.
00:22:01
No way.
00:22:02
This is, like, I had my experience, but with those two people who were dearly close to my heart, they're like, no, I believe in you.
00:22:08
You can go for pairs.
00:22:09
And so, this gold medal was more of, like, the pain and aches that we've gone through just within ourselves, but also the pain and aches that we've gone through as a team.
00:22:21
Because the four of us, me, SUNY, Jade, and Simone, like, even though Jade wasn't on the team in Tokyo, she still went through a lot, right?
00:22:29
She was going through her own thing as an individual.
00:22:32
So knowing that this gold medal is just, like, a pure light.
00:22:36
Like, although it's this heavy, this thing is heavy right today.
00:22:39
But it's like a lightweight of understanding that we did everything that we could to put ourselves in a position to go out and enjoy our time here.
00:22:47
And I think it's been the best experience.
00:22:49
And to have Hesley, like, the youngest one, see, like, us persevere in a different way.
00:22:55
And, like, we're her idols, her role models.
00:22:58
It only is going to help her be, like, okay.
00:23:00
My next one that I go to, I'll know what to do because I had the role models to be with me in the last one.
00:23:07
The leadership was there.
00:23:08
Exactly.
00:23:09
This gold medal to me is, like, I always say, my silver is my gold, but not.
00:23:14
This is it.
00:23:15
This is it.
00:23:16
This is the gold.
00:23:17
I hope, like, whoever listens to this kind of understands that you guys are just humans.
00:23:23
And they need to respect that and appreciate that.
00:23:26
And although you're, like, superhuman, you do things that are absolutely mind-blowing to me.
00:23:32
But, like, you really are just people.
00:23:34
And I'm, like, so proud of you guys.
00:23:37
And it's really cool that you were able to kind of give us some time to hang out.
00:23:41
And, thanks for joining us from the van behind the scene.
00:23:44
Going from the village to all of your media.
00:23:46
Hopefully this was a nice little car ride for you guys.
00:23:49
Yes, thank you.
00:23:51
Follow the show on the iHAR app, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or your favorite podcast platform.
00:23:58
And watch and listen to every moment of the 2024 Parasolumpic Games from July 26th through August 11th on NBC and Peacock.
00:24:06
And for the first time ever on the iHAR app.
00:24:09
[Music]
00:24:15
