It's Real in Rio!

“You just feel it happening, you won't find it anywhere else . . . it’s real in Rio!” Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett composed a song for the 2011 animated film “Rio” that I’ve been humming all week, as my newsfeeds and television screen overflow with images from that Brazilian city. As athletes from around the world have arrived for the XXXI Olympiad, it’s as real as it can get in Rio these days.

While thousands of miles away, there still are some local connections in Rio. Massillon native Carlin Isles used to race down the football field on kickoff returns for the Ashland University Eagles. He’s now playing rugby, named the fastest man in the game according to Time Magazine. Seemingly a cross between American football and soccer, it’s got scrums, yellow cards, and the sin bin (penalty box). I hope they have a concussion protocol in place.

Ashland University also claims Kibwe Johnson as one of its own. He’ll compete for Team USA in the hammer throw next week. He’ll rotate (wind) his body a number of times before heaving the sixteen-pound ball into the air (no actual hammer in the hammer throw). And we can’t forget two of the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, with Kyrie Irving playing for the U.S. and Matthew Dellavadova starring for the Australian team.

If Michael Phelps ever gets out of the pool, it will be time for the synchronized swimming competition. My mom was a huge fan of Esther Williams, who hoped to win gold in the 1940 Tokyo Olympics as a breaststroke and freestyle champion. The onset of World War II forced the cancellation of those games, as well as those scheduled for 1944. Instead, Esther Williams claimed her gold in Hollywood, appearing in the newly minted genre of swimming movies such as “Bathing Beauty,” “Million Dollar Mermaid,” and “Neptune’s Daughter.” She is credited with bringing the ‘sport’ of water ballet to the world’s attention, and finally got to the Olympics herself in 1984 as a commentator for synchronized swimming. Now, in 2016, the efforts – and eye make-up – of modern-day synchronized swimmers bring a whole new sense of athleticism and glamour to the pool.

Synchronized swimming is one of only two Olympic events specific to women (the second being rhythmic gymnastics). Based upon a Chubbies video making the rounds on social media, featuring pizza, beer cans, fist pumps and goal posts, it’s unlikely we’ll see male synchronized swimming in Tokyo in 2020 (although there are a few serious competitors around the world). At least for the time being, the men will have to be satisfied with synchronized diving (amazing) and water polo.

If my googled information is correct, all other summer Olympic sports have categories for both men and women. In the 1924 Paris games, only 100 women competed out of more than 3000 participants, and now in Rio, 45% of the competitors are women. On the heels of the nomination of the first major party candidate for U.S. president, that’s exciting news, especially for my granddaughters and their peers. No more croquet for you, girls - the sky really is the limit.

That’s what I love about the Olympics, for it gives us permission to dream. My own granddaughter, the lovely Madelyn Simone, recently informed me she no longer wants to be a ballerina teacher – she’s going to be a gymnastic! If she does follow that path, I’ll afraid I’ll be like gymnast Aly Raisman’s parents, barely able to look as she performs. How do they stay on that balance beam?

These athletes are exceptional, at the very top of their sports, but they are “us” as well. They’ve struggled with homelessness, depression, foster care placement, financial concerns, injury and exhaustion, but their examples of perseverance give us courage. As Kerri Walsh, beach volleyball star explains, it’s summed up in three words: breathe, believe, battle. “Breathe – be in the moment. Believe – have faith that you can rise above it. And battle – you gotta be prepared to go for as long as it takes.” Not bad advice, whether on the sands of Rio or in daily life right here in Ashland, Ohio.