The Making of a Champion

We often hear about people who’ve achieved great things, but we don’t necessarily know the back story.  Nancy and Elizabeth Jorgenson, with Gwen Jorgensen, have recently released their book, Gwen Jorgenson: USA's First Olympic Gold Medal Triathlete.  Intended to help inspire as well as represent women athletes, Gwen wanted the story to be geared toward middle school readers.  When doing their homework on this market, Liz and Nancy, already published authors in their own right, found that there were few stories of women athletes available to young readers.  In this episode, we talk about how Nancy forged a path for her daughters through her own hard work and determination.  Besides setting an example, she established three guiding principles, which Liz shared that she thought served them well.  With the passage of Title IX in 1972, Liz and Gwen had access to more possibilities than Nancy ever had, and were able to take advantage of them.  Though Gwen's experience wasn't linear and wasn't always full of accolades and recognitions, she continued to keep at it.   With guidance and mentoring from close supporters, she eventually became an Olympic Gold Medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.  Within the conversation, Liz, Nancy, and I discuss the importance of mentors, supporters, and perseverance.  Resources:Amazon: Gwen Jorgensen: USA's First Olympic Gold Medal TriathleteSigned copies: https://www.booksco.com/signed-copy-gwen-jorgensenFree Educator Guide: https://download.m-m-sports.com/extras/GwenJorgensen/Teacher_Guide.pdf Family story:Go: Gwen, Go: A Family's Journey to Olympic Gold Other Works:Hacking Student Learning Habits Things They Never Taught You in Choral Methods