Rise to Meet the Moment

No one can defeat America as long as Americans are always ready and willing to rise to meet the moment when we are called upon.

I'm not going to pile on Simone Biles, one of the most decorated American gymnasts, for pulling out both the team and individual all-around competitions at Tokyo Olympic Games. My mom always told me: "Be nice to others because everyone has their own battle to fight." We may never know what truly drove Biles to withdraw from the Olympic competitions in Tokyo. All I know is that she has her own battle to fight. We should leave her alone. Instead, I chose to remind myself that the reason I watch the Olympics, or any sports at all, is to find inspiration from those athletes who rose to meet the moment.

Let's time travel back to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.  Since 1948,  the former Soviet Union's and later Russia's gymnastics team dominated the Olympic Games, and the USA  never won the gold medal. On July 23, 1996, the competition between the two teams came down to a final rotation, the vault for Team USA and floor exercise for Russia. Team USA had a narrow lead.

As if there wasn't enough suspense already, U.S. gymnast Dominique Moceanu, who struggled with an injury,  received a low score after fell twice at the landing. Her teammate, 18-year-old Kerri Strug was the final one to take the vault for the U.S. and was Team USA's last hope to beat Russia and win the gold medal.  We couldn't imagine the amount of pressure Strug felt at that moment.

Then Strug took to the vault. This how ESPN described what happened next:

“With the crowd on its feet, Strug takes a deep breath and sprints down the 75-foot runway like a woman possessed. She performs a difficult vault that requires a handspring and a twisting dismount. As she descends through the air toward the ground, she slips on her landing and falls on her backside. She also hears a snap in her left ankle. There is disbelief in the crowd. The gold, it appears, is gone.”

It turned out that Strug suffered two torn ligaments in the ankle. At the time, no one knew that mathematically speaking, Strug didn't need to go to the vault for the second time because the U.S. had enough points to win the gold medal. Instead, people mistakenly assumed that if Strug quits, Russia will win the gold medal again. 

Team USA coach Bela Karolyi reportedly said to Strug, “Kerri, we need you to go one more time. We need you one more time for the gold.” He helped her get up and walk to the runway, to the loud applause of the crowd. 

Risk Weinberg of ESPN wrote what happened next:

“Strug sprints down the runway on her damaged ankle.. Strug leaps high into the air. She performs a back handspring onto the vault, perfectly. Then she descends through the air, toward the ground. Everyone on the sidelines and in the crowd winces, knowing that when Strug lands, it's going to be as painful as someone smashing a medal rod against your ankle.

Strug lands hard on both feet, amazingly without stumbling...She gingerly picks up her damaged ankle and folds it behind her, keeping her balance, to the shock of everyone in the crowd and everyone watching on TV...She hops on one foot to face one side of the crowd, then hops again to face the other, all the while holding up her injured ankle and forces a big smile for the judges… She holds the pose for a few seconds, just long enough to please the judges...then she drops to the mat, crying, holding her badly damaged ankle. The crowd goes silent. They all stare at the young gymnast who has just performed the heroic vault. The U.S. coaches and teammates race toward Strug. The bear-sized Karolyi bends down, lifts Strug up and carries her around the gym as the crowd breaks out in chants of, "Kerri! Kerri!"

She is carried off on a stretcher before her score is posted. When 9.712 flashes on the giant scoreboard, assuring the United States of the gold medal, the U.S. gymnasts and the crowd break out in emotional tears of joy.

The Russian athletes stand off to the side, stunned, speechless. It's the first time since 1948 that gymnasts from the former Soviet Union do not win the team gold, excluding the 1984 boycott Olympics. Russia winds up with the silver medal.”

I encourage you to watch the YouTube clip of Strug’s performance. It has become one of the most memorable moments in the Olympic Games’ history. The only comparable moment is the “Miracle on Ice,” when the U.S. hockey team beat the Russian’s during the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Strug's performance greatly impacted me because 1996 was my first year in the United States. I was a lonely and poor graduate student at a small college in upstate New York. I had to work hard to make ends meet while still keeping good grades. Under the weight of school and life in general, I began to doubt whether coming to America was the right decision. 

I didn't even watch the 96 Summer Olympics as the events unfolding because I couldn't afford a TV, and honestly, between work and school, I didn't have much spare time either. Internet was still in its relative infancy back then, so I had no clue what Strug had accomplished until I received a letter from my father.

I kept in touch with my family through letters in those early days because phone calls were too expensive. My father wrote to me after he watched Strug's performance. He commented: "Now I understand why the United States is the most powerful country in the world.  Even a teenage girl (i.e., Strug) has shown so much pride and unwavering determination that she would overcome excruciating pain to help her team and country win the gold medal. Such a nation will not be defeated, and it deserves to be the number one. I encourage you to learn from her and from the American people you met. Whatever challenges you are facing now, you can overcome them too."

After receiving my father's letter, I searched for and read every newspaper report about Strug's unforgettable performance. She reminded me of a passage from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”:

“If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew,

To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you,

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’”

Strug became my inspiration. I told myself that whatever pressure and challenges I faced were nothing compared to what Strug had to endure. Since she had risen to meet her moment in history in such a heroic and courageous way, I had no excuse not to keep going.

That was 25 years ago. I have made significant progress in my life since 1996, and I am grateful every day that I get to live in this great nation, the United States of America.

Today,  this nation is at a pivotal moment in history. In some sectors, condemning and criticizing America is far more trendy than being proud of it.  There are growing efforts to transform the U.S.  into something opposite to what the founders have envisioned. Once again, we may need to draw inspiration from those who rose to meet the moment in history before, find out what each of us can do to keep this republic, and summon all the courage, strength, and determination to do it. My father's words ring true today, just like they did 25 years ago: no one can defeat America as long as Americans are always ready and willing to rise to meet the moment when we are called upon.

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