Phil Pfister
World’s Strongest Man

• Winner of Met-Rx World Strongest Man competition, 2006, first American to win since 1982.
• Third in Arnold Strongman Classic, 2002

I am specifically interested in inspiring young people to realize the power of their communities too help them and themselves.  I want us to help them to be strong enough to survive and realize that they are not alone in their struggles.  Young people are our greatest resource.  They must be seen that way, and see themselves that way.  It is my mission to instill that sense of pride and connection to help our young people discover their sense of self, sense of community and ultimately their individual gifts. 

Excerpted from Strongmanphil.com

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Sheila Taormina
Only woman to qualify for Olympics in three sports

• First female athlete to qualify for the Olympics in three different sports
• 1996 Olympic Games, Atlanta, Swimming, Gold medal
• 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney, Triathlon, 6th place
• 2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Triathlon, 23rd place
• 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing, Modern Pentathlon, 19th place overall (1st place in two of the five events: swimming and equestrian show jumping).
•  2004 World Champion, Triathlon

(Sheila’s thoughts on the Bejing Olympics)

The shooting was a really positive experience for me.  It was not my best score, but it was by far the best I have ever executed "the process" in competition.  I was most nervous for this event going into the Games, because I feared that the anxiety would overwhelm me and that the score would be horrendous.  All of the work I did to focus on the process paid off, and the anxiety levels were almost non-existent. 

The fencing was where something amazing happened.  At the half way point I could not even stand to be in my own skin.  I had only two victories, and I wished that I had never made the team at that point.  I caught my sister Sudee's eye in the stands and motioned her to come to the front row of the stands so that I could talk to her between bouts.  She came down, and I hugged her through the railing that separated the spectator seating from the competition floor.  I told her that I could not take this anymore and that I wanted to walk off and not feel the embarrassment anymore.  She pulled away from the hug, looked me straight in the eye and said, "No"  She said, "you cannot want.  Do not "want" anything. Go finish this event how you have always finished...without giving up." 

I asked her if my mom and dad were ok.  She said that they were having the best time ever. I looked over towards where they were sitting, and my mom was smiling so big and waving an American flag. At that moment every ounce of embarrassment left my body.  I did not have to fake being positive.  There was some sort of instant acceptance of the journey. 

The swim went as expected. It felt strange to think that after 33 years of swimming I was finished with pushing so hard in the pool. 30 of those years have been with the same coach, Greg Phill.  Greg has coached me since age nine, and I can still remember those first days vividly.  How could I have known that he would be there 30 years later to send me off to my last race in the pool halfway around the world. 

After drying off I changed into the riding outfit we were given for the Games. I felt so great in the beautiful red riding jacket that I wore it the entire two hours before it was my turn to mount the horse.  It was hot, but I didn't care. My horse draw was Liangliang, a thoroughbred that was taken off the race track to become a jumper for these Games. Today, two days after the competition, my forearms are still sore from the half-halting in the warm up ring. 

Liangliang and I went out as the last afternoon sun had passed below the stadium bleachers, so we were riding under the bright lights of the stadium.  After the disaster rides the men had the day before I figured that my mom was not watching. Later she would reveal that she did indeed watch. She has come a long way!! :)

When Liangliang and I finished the ride with zero penalties the giant tv screen at the stadium flashed the word "AMAZING" over and over. I couldn't believe it. This beautiful horse had just taken me on the most amazing ride of my life. Later I would find out that I won the ride because out of the three riders to score 1200 points my time was closest to the optimal time without going over. If I had dared to ask anything good to happen during these Games I would never have had the gumption to ask for something this wonderful.

The final event was at 8:00 pm, and the energy in the stadium during the run was electrifying. The Chinese people love these Games, and they cheer for every athlete, not just their own. I warmed up with Margaux, and we just smiled the entire time and told each other how happy we were to be teammates together. I told her that these Games would be historic. There is something about it here.

After having the best summer of my life with run training (no injuries), I felt super strong. I passed 9 people to finish 19th place overall.

It wasn't until a minute or two after the run finish that I realized what had just happened. The only way I can describe this is to say that it was as if God was holding something in His hands like you would hold a baby bird. His hands were cupped holding something really delicate, and when He raised the top hand to reveal what was there the only thing I could say was "it is beautiful."  It had to be finished to see the beauty. Every difficult experience, even the fencing results that day, were part of a finished gift that was just how He had envisioned it all along. I only could see it when it was revealed as the finished piece.

This is the Olympic journey.

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