What kind of olympian am i

By process of elimination, he turned to cross-country skiing and even moved to Colombia to better his chances of qualifying. He didn't qualify, but he came pretty close. Of course, there's more to take into consideration besides just training, lest we forget that Bragiel is a venture capitalist who was able to uproot his life and move to another continent to fulfill his Olympic dreams.

Training is a financial commitment, and while many high-profile Olympic stars get sponsorships , newcomers — and athletes playing lesser-known sports — are left to budget for themselves. And remember archery, which can require just four years of training?

Running, meanwhile, is seen as the most affordable Olympic sport , but it's one of the hardest, too. Just ask the triathlon athletes who are notably collapsing at the finish line. And despite all the evidence telling us that, no, you'll probably never be an Olympian if you spend most of your days working from two monitors, binging Netflix shows, or just happen to have been a gymnast in middle school, we all like to dream — especially when Olympians make it look so easy so much of the time.

So, if you're really, genuinely looking to make your Olympic dreams come true, you should start training — and saving — right now. But if just reading this stressed you out, you might not be up for the herculean task of competing through pain, in intense heat, and against world champions. Questions: 5 Attempts: Last updated: Oct 8, Unique, Passionate, Sensitive.

Logical, Open-minded, Reasonable. Trustworthy, Unnoticed, Humble. We have seen the fun in being a supernatural being. There are different ways to be a supernatural, and who knows, you may actually be a god in disguise.

The quiz below is designed to tell you Questions: 10 Attempts: Last updated: Mar 22, For the next two years, Bertine will chronicle her Olympic quest for E-ticket. While finding a spot on the U. You'll meet coaches, teammates, competitors, good guys, bad guys, people who will make you laugh, make you cry, make you cover your eyes in horror. You'll find out what the day-to-day life of an elite athlete is like, get a feel for the kind of sacrifices necessary, see for yourself what kind of politics is involved.

In the first installment of Bertine's adventures, she begins the search for her sport with a visit to the modern pentathlon training program at the U. Olympic Training Center. Olympic Training Center has a nice pool. It would be nicer, however, if I didn't have a pound weight belt cinched around my waist while trying to swim its meter length 10 times. This is my third workout of the day.

I'm tired and cranky and semi-drowning, yet I can't think of any place I'd rather be. So, I decide to suck it up. At the wall, the swim coach of the women's modern pentathlon team stops me. He looks like he's break-dancing, which is not good, seeing as he's imitating me and I should be swimming a straight line. I look for pity from the swimmer next to me. She smiles and offers, "Usually, he puts the weights around our necks. My spazzing hips were actually the first step in a journey toward the improbable goal of a spot on the U.

Olympic team. To get to Beijing, however, I needed to find one thing first: a team that would have me. There were some sports I ruled out entirely, like soccer and gymnastics and diving, because those athletes usually begin training for their events immediately upon exiting the womb.

Sadly, I couldn't seem to find the Summer Olympics' equivalent of the two-man luge, a warm-weather sport in which I could get to China by lying very still above or below another person of the same gender. So, after carefully sifting through the actual possibilities, here, as far as I could tell, were my choices:. On the plus side, no one in the United States has ever heard of it, and it's obviously crazy hard, two factors which ought to discourage top-level competition.

On the plus side, not much has happened on that front in this country since our unexpected fourth-place finish in the Olympics, and I'm a good team player. The disadvantage: The last time I played a court sport was, um, never. On the other hand, thanks to my experience as a pro triathlete, I'm a decent road cyclist, so this seems to offer a shimmer of hope.

On the other hand, I'm too big to be a good lightweight and too light to be a good heavyweight. But perhaps with a lot of lettuce or a lot of ice cream, there's that shimmer-of-hope thing. I'd have to beat out seasoned Olympians and world champions who, up until now, have been consistently handing me my arse on a platter.

On the plus side, maybe I can speed up. I arrive at the Olympic Training Center at 6 p. This means that if I meet their swimming and running qualification times, they'll accept me for training and give me a chance to make the national team. Worst-case scenario: I impale myself while fencing and leave the OTC dejected and full of holes. I am issued a meal pass and a room key, which necessitate fingerprint scans and microchip cards.

They don't fool around here. My room is in the Oslo Dormitory, a rectangular building across the street from the Athlete Center. An iron fence runs along the border of the property, rendering the training center a private compound in the heart of Colorado Springs.

It has been 12 years since my last dorm living experience, my sophomore year at Colgate University. Communal toilets are down the hall. Like many college dorms, the carpet is gray and the curtains are orange.

The view from my window shows the future outdoor pool, which is currently an outdoor dirt hole. Instead of hallway trash cans overflowing with empty beer cans, Powerbar and Fig Newton wrappers gleam from neat and tidy receptacles. My neighbors across the hall are teenage wrestlers and weightlifters. Our schedules are such that we do not interact, but I hear the bleeps and whirs of PlayStations emanating from their rooms between training sessions.

I had stayed at the OTC twice before. In the summers of and , I spent two weeks here while I was competing in the collegiate nationals for figure skating. Didn't have a clue that the next decade would morph me into a triathlete, then perhaps a pentathlete.

Back then, the dining facility was a small, one-room unit much like a public high-school cafeteria. Today, it is a swanky event center, with photographs of Olympic medalists and inspirational quotes from Lance Armstrong and Bonnie Blair painted on the walls. Three giant TVs softly fill the dining hall with chatter.

Tonight is Mexican night, served up athlete-style. Lean, grilled chicken quesadillas and a topping bar with lard-free ingredients occupy one side of the cafeteria, while pasta and salad bars and dessert stations are on the other.

Nutrition charts hover above every serving tray. The closest thing I can find to unhealthy food is a slim slice of lemon meringue pie, which is probably fat-free. Between the seating area and the cafeteria is a "recovery bar," where athletes can grab bananas, energy bars, nutrient shakes, fruit, cookies and trail mix on their way out the door.

I sit down alone and observe the tables around me. Teenage mountain bikers with shaved legs and red welts occupy the round table to my left. Three Paralympic athletes are in the middle of the room. One athlete verbally disciplines his guide dog, after, en route to the table, he paused to snarf a tortilla fragment that fell beneath a table of weightlifters. There is a plaque that reads " Beijing Olympic Medalist," and underneath there is a mirror.

I look into it. I am so excited. My chin is going to the Olympics! Dragomir believes in his product and he believes in the people he tries to sell it to. From the beginning, Dragomir, a one-time Olympic gold-medal weightlifter, has made me feel like I'm capable of becoming part of their pentathlon program. Take this personality quiz highlighting six of the most prominent Olympian gods.

Find your icon at the end of the quiz, then look for it in the exhibition, identifying artworks related to your god or goddess. Apollo was considered the god of music and poetry, archery, prophecy, and healing.

One of the most admired of the gods, he personified knowledge, beauty, and perfection. As you move through Olympus , look for this icon, identifying artworks depicting your god or goddess. Athena was born in full armour from the head of Zeus.