We all know about the Americans’ dominance in Olympic sports
like swimming and women’s gymnastics. Those trends continued yesterday with
Michael Phelps winning the 200 meter IM for the third straight games and Gabby
Douglas becoming the third straight American to win the overall gymnastics
crown but you gotta love the underdog too.

That’s why we watch sports; we love the long shots with a
great story. This year’s Olympics has one of the greatest underdog stories that
will rival the miracle on ice. I’m talking about Kayla Harrison. She became the
first ever American to win gold in Judo which is impressive enough but it’s the
back story that makes this movie worthy. Harrison was sexually abused by her
Judo coach when she was just 13. It continued for 3 years including when the two
traveled internationally for competitions. Harrison told the USA Today she was
very suicidal as a teen and wrote in her journal everyday about killing
herself.

Luckily she never acted on
it and is still in therapy to this day but she was able to turn her life
around. She finished high school and is in the final stages of becoming a
firefighter but she never quit judo even though at times her family thought it
was best. Last year, Harrison was dominate,
winning five world cup gold medals and the world championships. She came into
this year’s world championships with the expectation of being first U.S. judo
player to win back-to-back titles. She didn’t. She finished third. So it wasn’t
a guarantee that she would win in London.

Just like the hero’s tale of old Harrison overcame the odds and
became the first American to win gold in Judo. You couldn’t help getting goose bumps
watching her standing on the podium, fighting back the tears. As the national
anthem ended and she thought of everything she had to overcome and that her Olympic
dream was realized she broke down in tears of joy. This is the stuff great
movies are made of, the kind that leaves everyone crying at the end. As I look
back at the first week of the Olympics this is the story that I will remember. This
is that Olympic moment that we all want to see and we will remember for the
rest of our lives.