My Encounter with an Olympic Medalist

 

    Over the summer I had the privilege of going to USA Taekwondo Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas. While I was there I kept hearing all of this buzz about how all four of the people who would be representing team USA in the Olympics for Taekwondo would be at the competition. Not only would they be there, but they were doing interviews, autographs, and photos. When the came I waited in line for what felt like forever to meet the people who would in less than a month be on a flight to Paris. First in line was Kristina Teachout. Among all of the athletes you could tell that she was the most excited to be at the event. Taking pictures with everyone in line and making sure to give all the kids a high-five. She was so nice to everyone in our group, making sure to give us a confidence boost before our matches that would follow in the coming days. It was only less than a month later I would be at home watching her compete in her first Olympic Games. I remember the moment I saw her win a bronze medal and how amazing it was to know that I had met her. At the time when I met her she seemed like she could've been 25, but after watching her win I found out the she is still 18, just like me. 

I had known of Teachout even before I had met her at nationals. A few months prior I had seen her on Instagram and really liked her social media content that she posted. She had a good balance between her personal life and her experiences being a world-champion in taekwondo. It was because of her social media presence that thousands of people in the Taekwondo community and the world got to follow her journey leading up to her big win in Paris. Since being in the Olympics and sharing her story across many social media platforms has gained tons of followers and sponsorships. It was how she used her social media presence to catapult her following that one of the smartest moves she made going into the Olympics. Although Teachout is competing in a smaller sport, she didn't let that stop her from competing at her best and trying to bring as much attention to herself and the sport as possible. As she posted on social media is allowed for the sport of Taekonwdo to start to gain popularity in the media as well. There's been countless videos of her matches posted to YouTube and her name being mentioned by countless articles about women in sports including one from USA Today.

I am grateful to Kristina Teachout for bringing attention more to the sport of Taekwondo through her use of social media and for showing me that your age does not defy your limits.

#Paris2024   #Olympics   #Taekwondo   #Womeninsports