Nothing stopped her from winning the gold medal Sunday night
Dana Vollmer is the perfect underdog story for all of the United States to cheer for. Four years ago, Dana Vollmer did not even qualify for the 2008 summer Beijing Olympics. However, after four years of training, she not only qualified for the 2012 London Olympics, but, as of yesterday, she is a gold medal winner.
After dealing with the disappointment of not qualifying for the 2008 summer Olympics, Dana Vollmer had to overcome injuries, health problems and doubts of ever competing again. However, the 24-year-old swimmer pushed herself and is now the queen of the water in the 2012 London Olympics.
“I was just thinking about all the work so many people around me have put in, and the belief that everyone had in me,” Dana Vollmer said. “There have been multiple moments in my career where I didn’t know if I was going to be able to keep going.”
Dana Vollmer won her first gold medal Sunday night as she broke the world record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly with finishing just over 56 seconds. Nothing could stop Vollmer from finishing first and beating the record set by Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom in 2009. Not even her top cap popping off in the water midway through the race could set back Dana Vollmer and stop her from receiving her gold medal.
“The top cap came off,” Dana Vollmer said after winning her first individual gold medal. “I have never had that happen before. I thought about it, and maybe it kept my mind off my legs hurting or something. I don’t know.”
