When the Olympics roll around, we are all faced with what people can accomplish with enough dedication .
Whoever ARENAS these athletes enter, there is a common thread linking each of them: They make their mission to realize their dreams. They grew rich and poor, privileged or stifled by oppression, they are all emblematic of what it means to chase your dreams until you are completely out of breath.
But there are stories that particularly deep strike agreement. Some athletes in Rio this year were born in the violence in Sudan. Another broken spine and stopped at nothing to get back in the game. Their stories are important. They are inspiring and powerful and sometimes tragic. They prove that with perseverance, no obstacle on the road to greatness is too high.
1. Kayla Harrison
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In Rio Harrison will compete for the United States in the women's judo. She has trained with the likes of Rhonda Rousey. It fields more groups offers mixed martial arts every day. She was also sexually abused by his coach as a judo prodigy at the age of 13.
The beginning of his career was marked by betrayal and trauma, but now she is opened with his story in the hope it can help other young athletes who face sexual assault believe in their talents and know that their attackers are those who should suffer, not them. Harrison is a hero to many.
2. jillion Potter
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Although this rugby US superstar seems unbreakable, his career almost came crashing when she broke her C5 vertebra and tore some ligaments. Despite orders from his doctor to refrain from ever playing again, she went through extensive rehab to get back on the field.
When she overcame this obstacle, however, she was tied with a devastating diagnosis. She had a broken heart to discover she had a synovial sarcoma, a form of cancer that affects the soft tissues in the joints. Surprisingly, she underwent chemotherapy and will hit the turf this year to play for his country.
3. Quanitta "Queen" Underwood
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this star of American boxing had to fight all his life, and as Harrison, she knows what it is to be betrayed. She and her sister had suffered years of sexual abuse by their own father. Unlike many athletes, Underwood was a prodigy. She has always been strong, but it was not introduced to boxing until she was 19 after she joined the Air Force.
She medalist in London back in 2012, which was boxing of the year was introduced as an Olympic sport. All signs point to it do it again this year.
4. Guor Mading Maker
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Childhood was never something Maker was able to enjoy. The Sudanese runner was born during a period of violence and unrest that the southern Sudan region worked to free himself from the clutches of the country. He lost eight siblings in this war, and 28 other family members. He stole everything from him. When South Sudan became its own nation and the Olympic qualifiers rolled around, he realized he did not have citizenship in a nation recognized by the Olympic committee.
In a moment that made Olympic history, Maker was allowed to run in London as an independent athlete. In Rio, he will compete as a member of the South Sudanese team in its inaugural year.
5. Kieran Behan
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as a child, said the Irish gymnast he would be bound to a wheelchair all her life because of complications caused by a tumor on his right leg. After a rigorous treatment, he defied his doctors and learned to walk alone again.
After suffering a serious injury, he was again told that a career in gymnastics was not in the cards for him. Again, he pushed through the rehabilitation and returned to the ground. He has since torn ligament, but as you can imagine, this has not stopped. He's used to overcoming adversity, and that's exactly what he will do in Rio.
6. Yusra Mardini
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the Syrian swimmer has a unique relationship with water, from the greatest journey of his young life was an arduous journey across the Aegean sea from Syria to Greece as she and her sister fled their war-torn country by war. Before they reach the shore, their boat began to fill with water. With her sister and another refugee, Mardini became a hero when she pushed the boat to land.
And now, as a member of the first Olympic team Refugees (ROT), she hopes to swim his way to victory in Rio. Based on how his dreams have taken him, this goal is certainly within reach.
7. Lopez Lomong
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in six years, this runner for the uS had crossed over most of us will in a lifetime. As a child, Lomong was abducted and taken to Sudan, where he was born and placed in a prison camp. He was one of the nation's "Lost Boys," as was Maker. This was the name given to children who have been orphaned or stolen during a civil war that took pace between 1983 and 05.
Townspeople helped the riders escape and make his way to the border with Kenya. That's where he stayed in a refugee camp for a decade. When he is not competing, he can be found working as an activist to bring education and health care to the population of Sudan.
8. Yiech Pure Biel
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Biel, a member of 21 years of the ROT, started running a competition just one year ago. He turned to the execution because, in difficult times, he made her feel like something more than himself when he no longer felt like it belonged to a nation.
Although a rookie, the runner 800 meters shows incredible promise, but his humility is what really sets. As he explained to the people, "While I will not get gold or silver, I will show the world that being a refugee, you can do something." He and the members of give his team faces in one of the most controversial issues of the world, and these faces are symbols of strength and courage.
9. Kristina Vogel
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in 09, the Olympic dreams of the German cyclist was almost broken when she was in a terrible car accident. she broke several bones, lost most of his bottom teeth, and has even been placed in an induced coma for two days.
After recovering, however, it hit the track again and pedaled his heart for his country in London. She will do the same in Rio.
10. Yolande Mabika
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the life of Mabika was a rough start when she was orphaned in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but has found solace in judo which led to his becoming the national champion. She finally sought asylum in Brazil, where she continued to train.
"Judo gives me a strong heart," she said. "I started judo to make my life better, to change my life, because I was looking for my family for so long . "
Life sometimes feels simply impossible. The point that these athletes drive home, however, is that the finish line is never out of reach. We can all go for gold.
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