The last time I swam laps was early March 2020. I remember waking up to my early alarm one morning and thinking, “Eh, I’ll sleep in. There’s always next week.”
Then the pandemic happened.
Then knee surgery happened.
Wait a minute…I’m getting the strangest sense of deja vu.
Most of the time I couldn’t care less about sports. I don’t go to games, I don’t watch sports on TV, and I don’t get involved in discussions about sports. My eyes glaze over when my coworkers talk about their fantasy football picks. I enjoyed watching the Texas Rangers play in the World Series a few years ago, and I enjoy watching the occasional UFC match, but that’s about it. When the Olympics are on, however, my inner jock goes into overdrive. I love it. Whether it’s the winter or summer Olympics, the TV is playing the games whenever I’m at home.
There’s one sport that kept me on the edge of my seat and motivated me to get up early and go to the gym more often. I eagerly awaited finals and semifinals, yelled at the TV, and jumped around the living room when my favorite athletes won medals. I watched the athletes’ form and technique carefully, eating up any tips I could gain to enhance my own performance.
Was it taekwondo? Nope! It was swimming.
Continue reading “How the Olympics Rekindled My Love for My Sport…But Not the One You Think”