While many stars of the Rio Olympics are giving out awards at the MTV VMA Awards, throwing out first pitches and showing up on the front of cereal boxes, some are still competing. Not everyone’s season ended with the Olympics.
When beach volleyball player April Ross mentioned to other Olympians she had a tournament the weekend after winning bronze, they were surprised.
“Everybody was shocked,” Ross said. “I don’t know anyone who went right back. The indoor volleyball players were asking, ‘Are you off now?’ ”
Tennis players not only had to compete, but compete in a grand slam. With the U.S. Open barely a week after the close of the Olympics, they had to refocus immediately.
“The silver medal for me, for my country, was amazing. To get that medal means something special,” Juan Martin Del Potro said of winning silver while representing Argentina. “It is tough to focus again on tennis.”
(Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
Katie Zaferes finished in 18th place in the women’s triathlon in Rio. Two weeks later, she was in Edmonton, Canada, for another race, where she finished third. She took a quick trip home to Santa Cruz before getting right back to training. While she thinks the two-week span between races is perfect, she admits it can be difficult to refocus after Rio.
“It’s funny because with the Olympics being the focus for the year, when it’s over, training isn’t quite as easy as it was before the Olympics,” Zaferes said. “The motivation to train was a little bit harder. But at the same time, now, doing a race two weeks after the Olympics, I think is the best thing for me.”
After being eliminated early in the Olympics, beach volleyball players Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat were eager to get back on the court.
“We went to Rio wanting to play our best, and we didn’t do that there. For me, I really wanted to play again and do better than I did in Rio and finish the season strong,” Sweat said. “It’s nice just to stay in the flow of things, and after this we’re done. It’s only a few more weeks after Olympics.”
Staying in the flow worked for Fendrick and Sweat, as they won the AVP tournament in Chicago over the weekend. Ross won the Long Beach Grand Slam with Olympic partner Kerri Walsh Jennings on August 28, and then finished in seventh with Kelly Reeves at AVP Chicago after Walsh Jennings decided to boycott the AVP event.
Olympic sports — and Olympians — are at the height of their popularity in the weeks after the Games. In Chicago, fans crowded around to watch Ross play, some holding up signs and cheering her name every time she touched the ball. They lined up after her game to get an autograph. Ross didn’t want to miss any chances to say thank you to the fans who supported her on the way to her bronze, and it’s an important time to build on the excitement of Rio.
“I feel like I’m on my victory tour playing these events. So many people are so happy to see you play,” Ross said. “Everybody’s so pumped. They’re so excited to see you play and are grateful for how we played, and that’s honestly what keeps me going.”
(Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Tennis player Jack Sock came back from Rio with a gold and a bronze, and was knocked out in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. He appreciated how the Olympics helped him focus on the Grand Slam ahead of him.
“I feel like my attitude and mentality since actually changed fairly drastically. I’ve enjoyed being out there more. Not necessarily less pressure, but I’m just having more fun out there,” Sock said.
But this doesn’t mean the Olympians don’t have big plans to rest and recover when their season is finally over. They’re going to rest, see family and catch up with friends. One Olympian is even mulling a special trip.
“I’ve been flirting with the idea of going to Italy and eating all the pasta and drinking all the wine I can get my hands on,” Ross said. “I’ve never been able to do that!”
Nick McCarvel contributed to this story.
