About fifty years ago, a classmate encouraged me to join her at a local gym for a gymnastics class. I spent the next three years committed to the sport until I got too big after puberty. Like most Olympic sports, participants dream of going to the Olympics to win a gold medal.

We spent hours in the shallow end of the pool creating beam routines. We listened to hours of music to find the perfect clip for an optional floor routine. My choice was “The Sting” aka The Entertainer by Marvin Hamlisch – and let me tell you better really love the song because you, and everyone else in the gym, is going to have to hear it many many times. My body took a beating. My hands were torn by the uneven bars. I actually broke an ankle during warm ups for a state competition but the trainers just taped it up. It wasn’t until ten years later when I twisted it again that they asked if I could have broken it ten years earlier.

Olga Korbut was the star of the time. In the 1976 Games, Nadia Comaneci would be the first ever to score a perfect 10 and do it 6 times to eventually win 3 gold medals. I have been a fan of gymnastics ever since.

Last night Simone Biles won gold and Suni Lee took the bronze in the individual all-around competition. I’m certain most have heard the stories of both of their journeys to return to the Paris games. My brief stint competing as a gymnast gives me some insight to the almost impossible set of circumstances it requires to make it back to compete in the Olympic Games.

Astounding.

Each time the Olympic Games come around I am excited to watch the opening ceremonies. This year did not disappoint. I traveled to France last summer and saw and heard about many of the preparations. I was especially excited to watch the parade of athetes in boats on the Seine River.

I enjoyed every moment of the Opening Games. The creativity and symbolism woven throughout the presentation was engaging and the final lighting of the torch with a nod to the history of the air balloon aviation was unique and forever memorable.

What give me chills about the Olympic Games, is that for just a few days, every couple of years, the world comes together to celebrate athletics. I find myself cheering for athletes of all ages, from all countries as they live their dream of competing with the best of the best in their sport. It is a global moment. It reminds me that I am a just one of billions of global citizens living on this beautiful planet.