When I watched the Olympics, as a little girl, I liked to pretend that I, too, was an Olympic athlete competing for gold.
By summer, I was a gymnast, a diver, a swimmer. And by winter, I was—of course—an ice skater. My sister and I had all three Olympic Gymnast Barbies (the blonde, the brunette, and the African-American), as well as the Olympic Stacies (whose costumes looked more like pajamas). And we’d judge each other on jumps, flips, and spins in our pool until my mom would drag us out by our raisiny fingers.
Did you ever dream of being Olympians?
Did you want to be Keri Strugg, with her incredible one-footed landing? Dominique Moceanu, with her energetic floor routine? Mia Hamm and the rest of the unstoppable US soccer team? Or Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Tara Lipinski…
Question of the Day:
Who are your Olympic idols? And did you ever dream of competing in a certain Olympic sport?
Megan says
Kara Goucher is definitely my olympic idol. She is so tough and has been through so much.
I would do the marathon (if not that, then a shorter running event). Call me crazy, but I love running!
Mara @ What's For Dinner? says
I always LOVED Bonnie Blair and Kristi Yamaguchi….and of course Greg Louganis 🙂
molly says
I’m obsessed with hockey too!
I actually train with some girls who ran track in the last Olympics – would love to get there!
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says
I was a dancer AND a gymnast, and I wanted to be an Olympian so badly!! I also really wanted to play hockey when I was little – my bro did and still plays, and there was a girl goalie on his team. I wanted to play so badly!
Amy @ Everything is Homemade says
I always loved watching gymnastics, but knew I was too tall to ever be a gymnast. Maybe subconsciously that’s why I started running? 🙂 I remember watching Suzy Favor Hamilton and wishing I could run the 1500m that fast!
Megan @ Healthy Hoggin says
I’ve always loved watching the Olympics, but I never wanted to compete in them! I think I knew I’d be too nervous to compete with the whole WORLD watching!! Scary!! 😉
Katie says
I was a Keri Strugg lover for sure, but for winter olymics, it was Nancy Kerrigan…she lived by my house and I used to stalk her. Creepy, I know. 🙂
CaSaundra says
Wish I had some of that coconut butter for the carrot cake I am making today–darn!
Jessica says
I wanted to be an ice skater, for sure! Sadly, my mom never let me skate because she was terrified that I’d hurt myself (alright, the cat’s out of the bag…I am a bit of a klutz!) I finally went for the first time two years ago! 🙂
I got a jar of the regular (plain) Artisana last week and can’t wait to try it on your 24-carrot cupcakes! It’s snowy and miserable here today, but baking would certainly cheer me up!!
Ashlei says
Michelle Kwan will always be my favorite figure skater. Too bad Olympic Gold was the one medal to allude her!
Run Sarah says
I loved all of the swimmers growing up and I dreamed of one day competing!
molly b says
We definitely should have hung out as kids… my sister and I spent our entire summer on the trampoline and in the pool doing performances for my mom! I look back at it now and feel sorry for my poor mom who spent hours watching our Olympic routines!
adrienmelaine says
I loved watching figure skating too! I think my favorite Olypmian of all time was Donavon Bailey- he was the fastest man in the world for about 8months- and was Canadian- it was a score
Michal says
Oh my gosh I had those same barbies! My favorite was Staci and she had on this pink leotard and you could make her do the bars. 🙂 WOW! I played with her a lot. When I was younger it was always gymnastics and I love shannon miller.
Adam says
I was all about Michael Johnson when i was younger… I loved watching the track events and couldn’t wait for the Winter Olympics for the past few years either 🙂 Great looking veggies!
Stef @ moretolifethanlettuce says
haha you are so cute in that pic! sucha goof. i was a gymnast for manyyyy years so naturally i wanted to be one of the Mag 7 :). amy chow is from my area so i got to meet her a few times at meets, remember teh black eye she got? badass! i didn’t really grow out of my olympic fever, when i started swimming and water polo in high school i was equally obsessed. never too old, i say!
erintakescontrol says
I had a talent-crush on Kristi Yamaguchi. She was incredibly graceful and had a smooth flow to her skating that I will never forget. I also really liked Nancy Kerrigan – I remember being fascinated when they would show her mother (legally blind) with her nose to the screen so she could watch her daughter skate. Summer olympics, other than synchronized swimming, isn’t really my cup of tea. I’m totally a winter girl!
musingsofthegranolagirl says
I always loved watching gymnastics in the summer olympics and ice skating pairs in the winter! I loved the ice skating outfits!
After watching Cool Runnings I’ve loved the bobsled competitions “feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, it’s bobsled time!!”
My idol now would be Kara Goucher, I would love to run like her! I tried gymnastics but unfortunately it wasn’t my cup of tea– running is though!!
Btw–> that mashed kabocha looks AMAZING, I think I’m going to have to try making some!
Mama Pea says
I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast so badly when I was little. Unfortunately I was so tall and uncoordinated it never was going to happen. Then there was that whole falling off the balance beam constantly thing. Oh well.
The Voracious Vegan says
Those peaches look awesome! It has been way too long since I’ve snacked on fresh peaches.
And yes, of course, I dreamed of being an Olympian! Specifically, an Olympic Show Jumper, or maybe 3 day eventer. Hmmm….maybe I’ll talk to Ender and if he can get over being a spazz maybe we’re still in the running!
candice says
I always wanted to be like Michelle Kwan. I would cheer for her no matter what. And I remember getting mad when she didn’t get first place once… good times. 🙂
Sarah says
Of course I wanted to be a figure skater! They had the best costumes!
Also, how do you make your bulgur pilaf?
Stefanie says
I always like watching the equestrian sports in the summer Olympics. It would be a dream come true to be able to ride in the Olympics. My favorite winter game would have to be bobsled because of watching “Cool Runnings.”
Leena says
My idols have always been the gymnasts and skaters. I’ve always been so jealous of their strength and talent! I’m a dancer, but sometimes I wish that I had a chance to learn some gymnastics too – It’s such a great sport!
JoLynn-dreaminitvegan says
Love the pic of you and the waxed Gretzky!
I absoulutely loved watching ice skating, still do. Ski jumping is cool too! There are so many winter sports that I love to watch. Although I also love to watch Apollo, he’s too cute!
EE says
I SO wanted to be a gymnast until I realized I was much better at ballet. And then I realized I was going to be not-short. I’m not TALL, but I’m 5’7″. Also, my mom got me this book called Little Girls in Pretty Boxes that scared the crrrrrrud out of me about being in an elite sport like gymnastics or skating. Haha, thanks, Mom! 😉
Hannah says
Steven Bradbury, without a doubt. The funniest (and most classic Aussie) gold medal ever.
kathleen says
oh gymnastics, for sure. i took lessons, but never competed. well, actually i used to compete with my little sister. i can still do handstands and cartwheels, though!
Jenn says
Girl, you just keep getting prettier and prettier with every post. Veganism obviously agrees with you 🙂
Bianca- Vegan Crunk says
I’ve never really gotten into the Olympics, but I did love that Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding drama in the 80s. And I’d love to hang out and eat Wheaties with Michael Phelps. I have a hard time paying attention to action on TV. I need dialogue.
Janna (Just Flourishing) says
I was a competitive rhythmic gymnast when I was younger and made it all the way to nationals. I ended injuring both my knees though and wasn’t able to continue.
A couple girls I trained with ended up going to the Olympics!
Now I love watching the figure skating and wish I could skate that beautifully!
Gabriela (froyolover) says
I love to watch the Olympics, too!
I used to dream I was Daiane dos Santos, when I was little.
You know, the brazilian gymnastic 😉
I´ve never watched the Winter ones. This year´s a first!
😉
Brazilian XOXO´s,
Gabriela
Katie says
I always wanted to be an Olympic gymnast….but I was never even a mediocre gymnast. My sister was an amazing gymnast though, so we had our own balance beam at the house. I used to pretend I was good and do “routines” on it when no one was around to make fun of me flailing all over the place!
Jessica says
I second or is it third now? that you look so pretty! As does your dinner!
But the cupcakes look the prettiest! Sorry Katie 😉
Pure2raw twins says
We have been watching the Olympics too. I have always enjoyed watching them. I like all sports, but favorite sports is volleyball. I find all the athletes to be inspirational.
Heather Eats Almond Butter says
We had a pool in our backyard growing up, and I used to make my best friend “announce me” and then I would do a gymnastics routine in the shallow end. Hehe – I’d forgotten all about that.
Jenny says
my parents have an entire home video of my sisters an I putting on our own olympics when we were younger. I was a pro at the balance beam (aka, the picnic table in our backyard)
Andria @ Veg is Sexy says
I desperately wanted to go to the Olympics for swimming. I made it to the Junior Olympics when I turned 12 but before the meet actually happened I turned 13 and my time no longer qualified.
Kristie says
I was always a huge fan of Kristi Yamaguchi – we shared the same name, after all 🙂 Now I like to watch all the sports and – especially with the winter ones – just marvel over how intense they are. Puts my runs in perspective haha.
Trail (Oven Aversion) says
Oooh, I love hockey too! And I certainly had my moments pretending to be an olympian. Swimming, gymnastics, ice skating, and probably at times different competitions that I invented for myself. Of course I was the best at all the events and always won the gold!
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says
olympics..
well, i’d like to join cirque du soleil NOW! I wonder if they are accepting applications from soccer moms these days 🙂
Quix says
I wanted to be an elite gymnast so badly so I could have hopes of qualifying for the olympics!!! Too bad I only made it to the season before level 9. 🙁 Or…probably a good thing for my body.
Oh well, I’ll be an olympic runner now! I can do that even when I’m old, right? 🙂 Just need to knock my pace in half and I’ve got it!!!!