Do you love the Olympics? I always have – both the summer and the winter. My fascination with athletes who dedicate themselves to turning out the ultimate performance started when I was young – long before I ever knew about West Springfield’s Tim Daggett or followed the career of Aly Raisman from Needham. I watch as much as I can of all the Olympic competitions – especially the summer diving and swimming meets, and winter’s ice skating and downhill competitions. And like many, I passionately follow the U.S. men’s and women’s gymnastics teams, which leads me to a confession. The interview in this issue is not the first time I’ve spoken with NBC sports commentator and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Tim Daggett. I’ve been acquainted with him as a gymnastics expert and coach for nearly a decade. My son Evan – whom I mention in this column from time to time – has been a competitive gymnast since the age of 8, training at Daggett’s facility in Agawam. He’s been “on team,” as they call it, since the summer of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the first time we were privileged to share Daggett’s inside stories and facts about Olympic goings-on. Then, as now, Daggett has offered his teams, gymnastics students and their parents an insider’s look at the host city and athletes through updates on his gym’s website (see the story on page 8; Daggett shared this year’s insider links with us.) Daggett has a unique perspective on the Olympics and what it means to represent your country – he’s seen both sides of the competition from the floor as a competitor and the broadcast booth as a commentator. I’m grateful to him for making the time between the men and women’s gymnastics Olympic trials to sit down with me and share his insights on the world’s most prestigious sporting event. I hope you enjoy the interview. And I hope you’ll be like me, following Team USA as they compete in Rio. Especially the men’s gymnastics – go Jake, Sam, Chris, Alex and Danell!
Thanks for reading,
