OlymPicks: Journey From Olympic Hopeful to Mother and Back Again
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In OlymPicks, we highlight news, gossip, and developments regarding the buildup to Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics.
It’s a sad reality that even today, women the world over are often pressured to choose between a career or childrearing. However, that pressure becomes even more prescient when the woman in question is an Olympic hopeful, for whom missing out on crucial training time or qualifiers could spell the end of her life’s work altogether. Canadian-born and Austrian-based skeleton racer, Elisabeth Maier recently discovered this when, just over a year ago, she gave birth to her son, Hendrix. Despite a complicated pregnancy that ended in six days of induced labor, a baby afflicted with meningitis during the coronavirus pandemic, losing her place on the Canadian team, and a general lack of support from its federation, Maier has not only returned bolder and better than ever, but she also has her sights set on a medal finish at Beijing 2022.
Maier has been chronicling her journey on her blog, Slide Like a Mother
Speaking to Olympic Channel last month, Maier explained that the entire ordeal has actually given her career a renewed purpose and sense of clarity. “I think I struggled a little bit with my why, prior to giving birth, in my skeleton career,” said Maier. “I love the Olympics and there was the goal to get a medal, but not much else. But now, I want to inspire my son to chase after his dreams. Secondly, I want to inspire moms worldwide to chase after their goals, because I think a lot of the time they get put on the back burner as soon as you have a baby.”
Carving out Chinese Olympic history
Last Thursday, the Beijing 2022 Olympic organizing committee unveiled 30 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games pictograms, which will be used on everything from signage and souvenirs to broadcasting and communications. Inspired by the ancient Chinese art of seal carving, the icons represent 24 disciplines across seven sports for the Olympics – freestyle skiing and snowboarding have more representations for their various courses and equipment used – and another six for the Paralympics.
The pictograms also come in a fun kinetic style
A couple of winter firsts for Australia
Much has been made about bobsleigh teams hailing from the warmer climes of places like Jamaica and Ghana, however, in certain areas of Australia, the thought of hopping in a tube and propelling down ice chutes at breakneck speed is equally surprising. Nevertheless, a number of Aussies have taken to the sport, and they’re quickly making a name for themselves on the world stage.
Last month, bobsleigh pilot Breeana Walker from Cairns – a city in the tropical region of Far North Queensland – became the first of her country to take home a World Cup gold medal when she cruised past the competition during a solo bobsleigh event for female contenders of Beijing’s 2022 Winter Games. Despite the fact that her team is “severely underfunded,” Walker told ABC News Australia that, “The result proves that I can challenge some of the best in the world.”
Last month, Baff became the first Aussie to take home a gold medal at the Winter Youth Olympic Games
Meanwhile, in the sport of snowboarding, 17-year-old Josie Baff recently became a national hero when she took home Australia’s first-ever Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) gold medal in the snowboard cross event at Switzerland’s Lausanne 2020, an accomplishment she hopes to capitalize on at Beijing 2022. Speaking to Olympic.org, Baff said that, “To get Australia’s first YOG gold at a Winter Games was such an honor – and hopefully it’ll open things up for more Australians to do something similar.” As for what the historic win means to her fellow countrymen and women, Baff explained that “I didn’t really process winning the gold medal until I got back home. Going around town, there were photos of me in shop windows, which was crazy. People keep reminding me about it.”
READ: OlymPicks: Chinese Official Calls Out COVID "Inaction and Irresponsibility," Everyone Else Excited About Coins and Ice Cube
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