Olympic Runner Abbey Cooper (D’Agostino): Beautiful Moments from Devastating Falls [Episode 22]

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This week Laura chats with Olympic distance runner, Abbey Cooper (D’Agostino). Abbey graduated from Dartmouth as the most decorated Ivy League runner in history, sporting seven NCAA titles. Her principle race was the 5000m in which she narrowly missed qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. Her first few years running professionally for New Balance weren’t exactly smooth sailing as she began encountering one injury after another. The challenges she raced in recovery built in her a resilience and humility that would prepare her to handle an even bigger hurdle that was to come.

She went into the 2016 Olympic trials battling a stress fracture in her shin, but still made the team. In the few weeks between the trials and the Games she suffered another stress fracture in her pelvis which restricted her to only non-weight bearing training; she was not allowed to run at all until she lined up for her preliminary event. The event wouldn’t go exactly as planned, but a fall, a split-second decision, and a forever memorable finish would eventually go viral and spread the goodwill of the Olympic around the world. Coined “The Most Beautiful Moment” of the Rio Games, Abbey’s choice catapulted her to a worldwide stage - a platform she holds with humility and for a purpose greater than herself.

Learn more here: http://www.hopesports.org/olympic-runner-abbey-cooper

For further information about trips with Hope Sports visit www.hopesports.org.

For more about our host, visit www.laurawilkinson.com and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Produced by Simpler Media