- Have you ever exercised?
- Have you ever pushed yourself to exhaustion in a workout?
- Have you ever pushed yourself to exhaustion, want to stop, but push yourself even further?
- Have you ever pushed yourself to the point where your body rebels, and whatever liquids or solids are in your stomach shoot up your system and out your mouth in an acidy expulsion?
I can say yes, to the first two questions, but for Olympians, the answer to #4 is yes, on a daily basis.
Watch the above video to see how hard Team USA Olympians push themselves in the quest for gold and glory.
- I get to the pool by about five o’clock, do about 45 minutes of prep work, and then I’m in the water at 6am. We see the sunrise in the morning when we’re already halfway through our practice. – Natalie Coughlin, swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist
- It’s all about training when no one is watching. It’s all about training on holidays because I know most people aren’t training when they’re on holidays. – Carli Lloyd, two-time gold medalist in soccer
- Nothing is….”Oh this is fun! I enjoy the pain, the lactic acid, the burn that flows through my veins!” None of that. You don’t want any of that. – Dawn Harper-Nelson, two-time 100-meter Olympic medalist