USA! USA! USA!

I got just as swept up into the Olympics as everyone else! As a wrestler I hold the Olympics in the highest esteem possible for sport. I love the human interest side. I love that we get invested in these athletes. We want to see them succeed because we not only like the sport or their ability but because we respect them as human being's and we like the way they represent our childhood dreams. That is certainly how I feel about Lauren. 

I was reading the Chicago Tribune one morning leading up to the Olympics and I was reading about athletes from Illinois. Lauren Doyle caught my attention. One, because Women's Rugby was brand new to the Olympics and would be making history. Two because Lauren was (in terms of playing sports at the highest level) fairly new to Rugby. How do you just pick up a sport later in life and become an Olympian?! 

In high school, Lauren was a track star. The term "star" carries a lot of weight, and Lauren was pretty burned out of track. Lauren may have been ready to move away from track & field but was not ready to move away from pushing herself and competing at the highest level. Lauren was not done being an Athlete. She attended Eastern Illinois and quickly realized that she was not just an average rugby player. 

Lauren currently plays rugby for a living. She is a professional athlete.