American athlete Sheila Taormina seems to well exemplify a versatile and complete athlete.
A fourth-time Olympian, Taormina, 39, is the first woman in history to qualify for the Olympic Games in three different sports: swimming, triathlon, and pentathlon. Besides great talents, her Olympic career showcases extraordinary perseverance, courage, and drive to succeed.
In 2005, after she had proved herself as an elite swimmer and tri-athlete, Taormina decided to start to train for the modern pentathlon. This turned out to be her greatest challenge ever. She had never practiced fencing, shooting or equestrian show jumping before.
She had to learn these sports from scratch at the age of 36. And she had less than three years to raise her skills from novice to elite level in order to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This ambitious plan appeared to be too great a stretch for sponsors and coaches alike.
"When people asked me 'have you ever been on a horse?', I said no. 'Have you ever fenced?' No; 'Have you ever shot?' No. They were like, 'good luck'."
This put her under financial stress, with no sponsorships and no resources to sustain her training. On the verge of a personal bankruptcy, she came close to giving up her dream and resuming her previous job as an automotive quality manager.
"I would have to sell my house. I was just a few months away from defaulting on my loan," Taormina recalled.
To settle for an easier, predictable life or to fight an uphill battle for her dream: that was a tough decision.
She chose the latter.
It was certainly a brave yet risky decision with no guarantee of success. As one coach reminded her: "this is your dream and nobody else's. Nobody owes you a single thing. So if you want to do this and you have to sell your house, that is your choice."
She then sold her house to fund her training and suffered a $40,000 loss in a downward real estate market. But she has nothing to regret about the decision.
"Well I am in the business of making Olympic team right now I am not in the business of making an extra $40,000 on my house. […] You know your mission and you make decisions to support your mission," said Taormina. After all, pursuing an Olympic dream is not about risk-return calculation. It is about fulfilling oneself by pushing the limits of one's capabilities, she said.