Sunday, August 5, 2012

I Love You, McKayla Maroney (Olympic Women's Gymnastics - Vault Finals)

I've been a fan of gymnastics for years, ever since I watched Carly Patterson get the all-around gold in Athens. While I've never actually taken part in the sport, I've been following it nearly religiously for 8 years. Other than Rebecca Bross, I've never come across a gymnast I've loved as much as I love McKayla Maroney. This post just about sums up my feelings for her. She is above and beyond one of the coolest people in the sport.

So of course I was more than willing to wake up early to watch McKayla vault live. Her first vault- her amanar- was beautiful. The highest score of the day. But her second vault marks the only time I've ever seen her miss a vault in competition. After some very upsetting and confusing issues with the scoreboard, McKayla ended up in second place, looking just as upset as I felt. But you know what? She is one of the most gracious people I've ever seen in defeat. She hugged the girl who beat her, smiled as she accepted her silver medal, posed for pictures, and even tweeted that, while she was disappointed in how the day went, she's happy with her silver medal.

I'm damn proud of her. She can miss her vaults 100 more times and I'll still be proud to call her a member of team USA. She is above and beyond the best vaulter in the world. I know it. She knows it. The rest of the Fierce Five knows it. And I'm sure she'll prove it again soon. She will get that vault named for her. She will always be one of the most inspirational people I've ever known. In fact, I'd support her going to Rio in 2016 to anchor the US team with her amazing vaults once again.

McKayla Maroney, be proud of yourself. You deserve it. You've inspired millions of children and teens across the country. Maybe not all of them will go into gymnastics, but they'll be gracious winners, gracious losers. They'll know that dreams do come true. They'll believe in themselves, just like you believe in yourself. And for that, thank you.

Follow her on twitter. 

PS: I will add pictures (not only is McKayla made of awesome, she's also incredibly photogenic) when I can get on a non-mobile website.