[Music]
imagine walking into a stadium filled
with a hundred thousand people and
millions more are watching on TV here
cheers and screams coming from every
direction and flags from hundreds of
countries we’re flying in the air the
excitement and the energy all around is
so real you can literally feel it this
was the opening ceremony of the 2012
London Olympic Games and I was the best
u.s. track and field athlete in the
triple jump I had been working my entire
life to get to this moment being part of
something so much bigger than myself it
gave me chills we all have that thing in
life that we’re working towards and want
to become the best that it could be to
be the best mom or the best entrepreneur
each and our corner of the world it’s
something we can all relate to wanting
to be the best at some thing
my hope is that hearing my story of
working towards my dream while believing
the best is yet to come
can inspire you to believe the same the
day after I learned to walk my parents
were flipping me through cartwheels and
encouraging me they saw that I wanted to
be the best they saw a spark of passion
and they said it one summer day in the
early morning hours they picked me up
out of bed and loaded me in the car when
I cracked open my eyes stepped out of
the car I saw they had brought me to a
Junior Olympic track meet I was tired
and I was stiff from the drive initially
I wasn’t very happy to be there and
thankfully I was too young and too
stupid to know the importance of warming
up well so I stepped right onto the
track I shook off my bad attitude I
competed and I did really well my
parents pushed me the most Sunday’s like
these that they didn’t want to be pushed
they knew I wanted to be great and they
taught me if I worked hard the idea that
the best is yet to come would become
true
my effort paid off and a scholarship to
North Dakota State University where my
focus was trapping field I didn’t do
college like a normal kid does I skipped
the parties I think I went tailgating
once even academic sometimes took a back
seat to my main focus of track and field
I want it to be the best my final year
of college
I qualified for my first US Olympic
Trials competing with the top
professional athletes in the entire US
was thrilling I was starstruck
I remember my stomach being in a ball of
nerves thinking I was gonna step onto
the track at the wrong time being
someone else’s way and get yelled at by
someone who was important but through
the nerves I mustered out some jumps and
they were subpar but I was really proud
that I had earned a spot to compete in
those Olympic Trials I saw that I could
compete with the best athletes in the US
but if I ever had hopes of becoming an
Olympian
I needed to be better I thought wait
could I become an Olympian
after college I continued to work
towards this new idea of becoming an
Olympian and while I did there were so
many days that I had urged to get
sidetracked go out with friends stay out
late eat some junk food have some beer
but I didn’t we all make sacrifices in
life for things that we prioritize I
stuck to a diet where the drink of
choice was a high protein shake every
single day instead of soda or beer and
that was my daily treat to being able to
have some baked chocolate how lame is
that I stuck to the diet and it was
stripped and it was monotonous and it
was painfully healthy and it was worth
it I get asked all the time how I could
have the willpower to stick to the
lifestyle I was living keeping a 9:30
p.m. bedtime like any mom would do an
anticipation of being up all hours of
the night with kids well I did it to
ensure I would have nine full hours of
rest I was the person who wouldn’t
ever miss a training day even on
vacation and this often meant that I had
to be the crazy lady doing sprints on
the beach or push-ups next to the pool
and you should have seen the awesome
stares that I got by other people on
vacation this was my normal to everyone
looking in it looked difficult
I saw a commitment to wanting to become
better I wanted to be an Olympian
I worked hard training sessions that
lasted four hours a day muscles so sore
I would feel like I was on fire and then
there was that sand from the jumping
pitch imagine that in every body crevice
imaginable so there’s that yes it was
all worth it in 2008 I qualified for my
second Olympic Trials and now I’m no
longer afraid I was going to be in
someone else’s way I was on a mission
top three make the Olympic team going
into my final attempt I was tied for a
fourth place I looked down the runway I
jumped landed in the sand got out of the
pit in my eyes glued to the board that
flashes the results I waited a lifetime
for that result to pop up and it flashed
and it wasn’t enough one stinking place
away from making the team missing out
that year left me gutted I needed time
to reflect
so I skip to our family cabin and that
night sitting around the bonfire my dad
from his lawn chair reached over and
passed me his Olympic Trials credential
in the place where 2008 was written he
wiped it away and wrote 2012 since that
first cartwheel he never stopped
believing in me even when I didn’t
believe in myself he knew I could do it
he knew I could become better and if I
committed myself to the 2012 Olympic
Trials something great what happened I
went home considering the idea honestly
overwhelmed at that thought I hung the
credential in my closet and I shut the
door and after a week I was itching to
start training again the Olympic spark
wouldn’t go away I need to see if the
best is yet to come I continue to train
while some big events outside of track
and field happened
I’m married the love of my life Gregg
who conveniently doubled as a living
training partner and massage therapist
so that was nice
and keeping was tradition at our wedding
my dad walked me down the aisle and he
had previously been diagnosed with
cancer and four months later it took his
life these are the most painful memories
I remember sitting at home with him on
our living room couch I held his hand
and I clung to the sound of every breath
that I heard him take because I knew his
time on this earth was quickly coming to
an end
through this experience I turned to my
faith and I’m a believer in the
afterlife in the biggest way possible
once again I saw the best is yet to come
it became important to me to see my
dad’s dreams and my dreams come true I
needed to see his 2012 credential get
used so back on the track I qualified
for my third US Olympic Trials in 2012
my time had come you know that feeling
when everything just goes right and
falls into place this was one of those
days there are six rounds of jumps I
took the lead in the second round of the
competition I held it all the way
through the end landing in the sand I
became an Olympian I was so proud and I
wish you could have seen how I puffed my
chest out with pride when I put on my
dad’s credential I loved every second of
the London Olympic Games but there was
this one thing festering in my mind I
didn’t have a lifetime best performance
that day I wondered if I could be better
what if the best was still yet to come
I wanted more I thought I could become
the first female American triple jumper
to qualify for two Olympic Games I
dedicated another four years to daily
training strict diets
time’s sand everywhere spending months
away from home to train at the Olympic
Training Center and even putting off
starting a family greg has always been
supportive of me but I feel really
guilty about this even now but I
continue to believe I couldn’t become
better between 2012 and 2016 I progress
I was feeling really good about hitting
my goal was feeling it lasted up until
seven weeks before my final Olympic
Trials during an intense training
session I felt a pop in my leg landing
in the sand I knew I tore my hamstring
the pain in my spirit was so real it
felt like a knife straight into my heart
it was like a nightmare there was no way
I could prepare for these Olympic Trials
with a torn hamstring I was devastated I
spent that evening in tears all I could
think about was these Olympic Trials
being the culmination of my entire
athletic career and now suddenly none of
the sacrifices seemed worth it
everything I had been working for was
wasted the following weeks I was forced
to rest and as many of us do when life
happens as I did with the death of my
dad I turned to my faith I spent a lot
of time in prayer and I began to see I
had to surrender my Olympic goal I had
to trust in a bigger plan it was the
only way to move forward so I made a new
goal it was to be present and enjoy this
journey even with a torn hamstring I
decided it was still possible the best
was yet to come
I celebrated every step of the healing
hamstring and discovered I might have
the world’s slowest healing hamstrings
they tested my patience but finally two
weeks before the Olympic Trials I put on
my spikes and I sprinted without any
pain I can’t even tell you how excited I
was about this it was a breath of new
life it meant I could compete at the
Olympic Trials it’s a non competition
day not only did I compete but I did it
with a hugely grateful heart there are
two days of competition at the trials
I jumped well on the first day and I
earned a spot to compete on day two and
on that second day I jumped my heart out
I fought to jump well but it wasn’t
enough there were my sandy shoes for the
last time that day and still I left the
runway with more joy than should have
been possible after failing miserably at
my original goal believing the best was
yet to come put my mind and my heart in
a really good spot
that night I celebrated with friends and
family we enjoy some beer and greasy and
fatty and delicious nachos as far as I
was concerned this experience was the
best I believed the best was yet to come
and it did this is my corner of the
world and each of us has something
different that we’re working towards
yeah we all have the same story pushing
ourselves to become better than before
and we should do it holding on to the
idea that the best is yet to come
whatever you’re working towards optimism
is the way to get there I’ve learned
this over and over again in the
experiences that I’ve had in athletics
and now I’m leaving the Olympic chapter
behind I found a new career that I love
and I can’t wait to be a mom if that’s
what’s in store for Greg and me whatever
it is for all of us I know the best is
yet to come
imagine walking into a stadium filled
with a hundred thousand people and
millions more are watching on TV here
cheers and screams coming from every
direction and flags from hundreds of
countries we’re flying in the air the
excitement and the energy all around is
so real you can literally feel it this
was the opening ceremony of the 2012
London Olympic Games and I was the best
u.s. track and field athlete in the
triple jump I had been working my entire
life to get to this moment being part of
something so much bigger than myself it
gave me chills we all have that thing in
life that we’re working towards and want
to become the best that it could be to
be the best mom or the best entrepreneur
each and our corner of the world it’s
something we can all relate to wanting
to be the best at some thing
my hope is that hearing my story of
working towards my dream while believing
the best is yet to come
can inspire you to believe the same the
day after I learned to walk my parents
were flipping me through cartwheels and
encouraging me they saw that I wanted to
be the best they saw a spark of passion
and they said it one summer day in the
early morning hours they picked me up
out of bed and loaded me in the car when
I cracked open my eyes stepped out of
the car I saw they had brought me to a
Junior Olympic track meet I was tired
and I was stiff from the drive initially
I wasn’t very happy to be there and
thankfully I was too young and too
stupid to know the importance of warming
up well so I stepped right onto the
track I shook off my bad attitude I
competed and I did really well my
parents pushed me the most Sunday’s like
these that they didn’t want to be pushed
they knew I wanted to be great and they
taught me if I worked hard the idea that
the best is yet to come would become
true
my effort paid off and a scholarship to
North Dakota State University where my
focus was trapping field I didn’t do
college like a normal kid does I skipped
the parties I think I went tailgating
once even academic sometimes took a back
seat to my main focus of track and field
I want it to be the best my final year
of college
I qualified for my first US Olympic
Trials competing with the top
professional athletes in the entire US
was thrilling I was starstruck
I remember my stomach being in a ball of
nerves thinking I was gonna step onto
the track at the wrong time being
someone else’s way and get yelled at by
someone who was important but through
the nerves I mustered out some jumps and
they were subpar but I was really proud
that I had earned a spot to compete in
those Olympic Trials I saw that I could
compete with the best athletes in the US
but if I ever had hopes of becoming an
Olympian
I needed to be better I thought wait
could I become an Olympian
after college I continued to work
towards this new idea of becoming an
Olympian and while I did there were so
many days that I had urged to get
sidetracked go out with friends stay out
late eat some junk food have some beer
but I didn’t we all make sacrifices in
life for things that we prioritize I
stuck to a diet where the drink of
choice was a high protein shake every
single day instead of soda or beer and
that was my daily treat to being able to
have some baked chocolate how lame is
that I stuck to the diet and it was
stripped and it was monotonous and it
was painfully healthy and it was worth
it I get asked all the time how I could
have the willpower to stick to the
lifestyle I was living keeping a 9:30
p.m. bedtime like any mom would do an
anticipation of being up all hours of
the night with kids well I did it to
ensure I would have nine full hours of
rest I was the person who wouldn’t
ever miss a training day even on
vacation and this often meant that I had
to be the crazy lady doing sprints on
the beach or push-ups next to the pool
and you should have seen the awesome
stares that I got by other people on
vacation this was my normal to everyone
looking in it looked difficult
I saw a commitment to wanting to become
better I wanted to be an Olympian
I worked hard training sessions that
lasted four hours a day muscles so sore
I would feel like I was on fire and then
there was that sand from the jumping
pitch imagine that in every body crevice
imaginable so there’s that yes it was
all worth it in 2008 I qualified for my
second Olympic Trials and now I’m no
longer afraid I was going to be in
someone else’s way I was on a mission
top three make the Olympic team going
into my final attempt I was tied for a
fourth place I looked down the runway I
jumped landed in the sand got out of the
pit in my eyes glued to the board that
flashes the results I waited a lifetime
for that result to pop up and it flashed
and it wasn’t enough one stinking place
away from making the team missing out
that year left me gutted I needed time
to reflect
so I skip to our family cabin and that
night sitting around the bonfire my dad
from his lawn chair reached over and
passed me his Olympic Trials credential
in the place where 2008 was written he
wiped it away and wrote 2012 since that
first cartwheel he never stopped
believing in me even when I didn’t
believe in myself he knew I could do it
he knew I could become better and if I
committed myself to the 2012 Olympic
Trials something great what happened I
went home considering the idea honestly
overwhelmed at that thought I hung the
credential in my closet and I shut the
door and after a week I was itching to
start training again the Olympic spark
wouldn’t go away I need to see if the
best is yet to come I continue to train
while some big events outside of track
and field happened
I’m married the love of my life Gregg
who conveniently doubled as a living
training partner and massage therapist
so that was nice
and keeping was tradition at our wedding
my dad walked me down the aisle and he
had previously been diagnosed with
cancer and four months later it took his
life these are the most painful memories
I remember sitting at home with him on
our living room couch I held his hand
and I clung to the sound of every breath
that I heard him take because I knew his
time on this earth was quickly coming to
an end
through this experience I turned to my
faith and I’m a believer in the
afterlife in the biggest way possible
once again I saw the best is yet to come
it became important to me to see my
dad’s dreams and my dreams come true I
needed to see his 2012 credential get
used so back on the track I qualified
for my third US Olympic Trials in 2012
my time had come you know that feeling
when everything just goes right and
falls into place this was one of those
days there are six rounds of jumps I
took the lead in the second round of the
competition I held it all the way
through the end landing in the sand I
became an Olympian I was so proud and I
wish you could have seen how I puffed my
chest out with pride when I put on my
dad’s credential I loved every second of
the London Olympic Games but there was
this one thing festering in my mind I
didn’t have a lifetime best performance
that day I wondered if I could be better
what if the best was still yet to come
I wanted more I thought I could become
the first female American triple jumper
to qualify for two Olympic Games I
dedicated another four years to daily
training strict diets
time’s sand everywhere spending months
away from home to train at the Olympic
Training Center and even putting off
starting a family greg has always been
supportive of me but I feel really
guilty about this even now but I
continue to believe I couldn’t become
better between 2012 and 2016 I progress
I was feeling really good about hitting
my goal was feeling it lasted up until
seven weeks before my final Olympic
Trials during an intense training
session I felt a pop in my leg landing
in the sand I knew I tore my hamstring
the pain in my spirit was so real it
felt like a knife straight into my heart
it was like a nightmare there was no way
I could prepare for these Olympic Trials
with a torn hamstring I was devastated I
spent that evening in tears all I could
think about was these Olympic Trials
being the culmination of my entire
athletic career and now suddenly none of
the sacrifices seemed worth it
everything I had been working for was
wasted the following weeks I was forced
to rest and as many of us do when life
happens as I did with the death of my
dad I turned to my faith I spent a lot
of time in prayer and I began to see I
had to surrender my Olympic goal I had
to trust in a bigger plan it was the
only way to move forward so I made a new
goal it was to be present and enjoy this
journey even with a torn hamstring I
decided it was still possible the best
was yet to come
I celebrated every step of the healing
hamstring and discovered I might have
the world’s slowest healing hamstrings
they tested my patience but finally two
weeks before the Olympic Trials I put on
my spikes and I sprinted without any
pain I can’t even tell you how excited I
was about this it was a breath of new
life it meant I could compete at the
Olympic Trials it’s a non competition
day not only did I compete but I did it
with a hugely grateful heart there are
two days of competition at the trials
I jumped well on the first day and I
earned a spot to compete on day two and
on that second day I jumped my heart out
I fought to jump well but it wasn’t
enough there were my sandy shoes for the
last time that day and still I left the
runway with more joy than should have
been possible after failing miserably at
my original goal believing the best was
yet to come put my mind and my heart in
a really good spot
that night I celebrated with friends and
family we enjoy some beer and greasy and
fatty and delicious nachos as far as I
was concerned this experience was the
best I believed the best was yet to come
and it did this is my corner of the
world and each of us has something
different that we’re working towards
yeah we all have the same story pushing
ourselves to become better than before
and we should do it holding on to the
idea that the best is yet to come
whatever you’re working towards optimism
is the way to get there I’ve learned
this over and over again in the
experiences that I’ve had in athletics
and now I’m leaving the Olympic chapter
behind I found a new career that I love
and I can’t wait to be a mom if that’s
what’s in store for Greg and me whatever
it is for all of us I know the best is
yet to come
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