As we cheer for our country’s very own Mark Anthony Barriga as he competes in the light flyweight boxing division at the London 2012 Olympic Games, we also remember to celebrate the other moms behind the athletes who are right now representing their respective countries. Here are two of my favorites:
Ryan Lochte – Swimming
I especially love what Ilean Lochte, Ryan Lochte‘s mom shared about how it is to raise her Olympian son: “…I watched the other parents who are very domineering. You know, ‘you have to do this, you have to do that.’ Of course, they are gonna start hating it. And I knew I couldn’t be like that. I couldn’t be the one to push my kids to hate the sport. They had to like it. So I do bite my tongue a lot. I can’t show that competitiveness. I just kept it inside. But when it came down to it, he never knew it… Because I held back a lot of my opinions, he was free to love it his way. We just have to let Ryan be Ryan.”
So much wisdom in Ilean Lochte’s words. Insight to parenting that we can always make use of. Parents always want the best for their children. But in wanting the good things so much for our children, there is always the tendency to shove them right to their faces that they begin hating them.
Alicia Sacramone – Gymnastics
Mother of Olympian Gymnast Alicia Sacramone, Gail‘s heart was crushed when her daughter fell of the beam during the Beijing 2008 Olympics. But she pressed on to support her child no less when Alicia said she wants to compete at the 2010 London Olympics. She said, “You never stop being there for her. And I’ll continue to do it. You know, she’s my child. I get approached all the time by mothers of young athletes asking ‘what advice would you give me?’ I just tell them, ‘It’s their dream, it’s not your dream. You just have to support, support and love. It’s all you can do. That’s how you raise an olympian.”
I love how P&G are celebrating the moms of these olympians. In as much as I would gladly cheer on our very own Mark Barriga, I will also be watching these other olympians, wondering about their own stories. It doesn’t help that the cable started becoming unreliable because of the storm that we are currently experiencing. I can still watch the London 2012 Olympics via Sports5 of TV5. Here’s to the moms of these London 2012 Olympians!
