Olympic Daily News: 24 June 2020
Get your daily update of Olympic news: Trivia, trends, and talking points. Evgenia Medvedeva eyes silver screen, Laurie Hernandez on mental health, and Guor Maker's inspirational journey
How fun was Olympic Day!? We are all still smiling from it, that’s for sure.
If you missed the action as we worked out live around the world, head over to @Olympics on Instagram or check out our blog post from the day to relive all the fun.
Will we see figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva on the big screen?
Known for her emotion on the ice, two-time world figure skating champion Evgenia Medvedeva says she has to call upon her acting skills in competition.
“Sometimes at competitions, I have to pretend that I’m completely cool-headed, but actually it’s quite the opposite,” the 20-year-old said, according to RT. “Often you face some unexpected situations: you may have a high temperature or have pain, then I need to switch on the actress in me.”
While the Olympic silver medallist is currently preparing for the 2020-21 skating season, she hasn’t ruled out a future in acting.
“I’m a very emotional personal, my life is really very colorful,” said Medvedeva. “If I train a lot, I think I could learn how to show emotions by the command, ‘Action!’”
Olympic champion gymnast Laurie Hernandez on ‘Changing the Game’
Team USA gymnast Laurie Hernandez, who won team gold and balance beam silver at Rio 2016, opened up this week about mental health and more in a wide-ranging on the new USA Today podcast ‘Changing the Game,’ which features women in sports.
Hernandez says that the same superpower athletes have to know their bodies physically can also, at times, be a scary place mentally.
“If you're hyper-aware of your body, you're probably hyper-aware about what's happening in your head, too,” she said. “And that can be a really scary place. At least for me sometimes, it feels like you get stuck in there
“Having big names like Michael Phelps and Aly [Raisman] who are talking about that, it’s really helpful for me to hear that and [makes me] feel more comfortable sharing my story.”
‘Runner’ highlights inspirational journey of Guor Maker
A new film titled ‘Runner’ follows the inspirational journey of Guor Maker, a two-time Olympic marathoner from South Sudan.
Maker left his war torn home at age 8. He was captured and enslaved before finding freedom in a refugee camp. Eventually, he made it to the United States where he started high school. Now, 36, married and living in Colorado, he hopes his journey can inspire others to make change in their communities.
“What I am hoping for [viewers] to understand is look at [my] situation and see yourself in there,” he told Runners World. “What can you do? What can you do to improve your own life and your community? Look and see if you can find your purpose.”
Fans around the world can watch the film online at RunnerDoc.com, with a portion of the funds going to the Refugee Assistance Alliance.
Trivia Time!
On Monday, we asked who won the first-ever men’s singles Olympic title in table tennis. The answer? Yoo Nam-kyu of South Korea.
Here’s today’s question.
Who was the last female gymnast to win back-to-back Olympic all-around gold medals?
- Simone Biles
- Nadia Comaneci
- Vera Caslavaska
- Mary Lou Retton
