Meet an Olympian! Special Guest Dominique Dawes 🏅
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Season 2: Episode 20 Description
Ten News Gets Extra: 🤸🏾♀️ Get the scoop on what it is like to be an Olympic medalist in U.S. Women's gymnastics. 🏅Correspondent Kenny Curtis talks with Olympic champion Dominique Dawes about her experience and her advice for young athletes and their families.💖 Listen in as she shares her thoughts on Simone Biles and why she was motivated to start her own gymnastic academy. 💯 And test your gymnastic judging knowledge in today's Trivia on the Ten. ✅
Sources for the episode:
Why Gymnastics Abandoned The Perfect 10 And Embraced Jaw-Dropping Athleticism | HuffPost null
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TRANSCRIPT:
Sound Bit 0:00
Gorgeous form, artistry, execution, the difficulty.
Bethany Van Delft 0:06
What is four inches wide, sits four feet off the ground, and makes world champions every four years? A balance beam, the most anticipated event of the games. Today we are flipping out over the exciting sport of gymnastics.
Sound Bit 0:23
A combination right here, three elements in a row.
Bethany Van Delft 0:26
I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's Saturday, October 16th. And this is The Ten News Gets Extra. Perfect!
Various Voices 0:37
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Bethany Van Delft 0:46
Did you watch the Olympic Games this summer? We did. Between the strength and composure of the female gymnasts and Simone Biles speaking out about mental health. We were blown away. Our sports correspondent Kenny Curtis recently caught up with Olympic medalist Dominique Dawes, someone who's been on the world stage and now works with up-and-coming female athletes to talk about what it's like to be a young girl in the biggest gymnastics competition.
Kenny Curtis 1:16
Welcome back to The Ten News I'm Kenny Curtis. We are usually talking about sports and all things you know football, baseball. But our sports are taking a very different turn or perhaps a tumble, maybe a twist, a flip whatever. Because we have Dominique Dawes with us, the Olympic champion. Dominique Dawes, how are you?
Dominique Dawes 1:35
I am great.
Kenny Curtis 1:37
So, you've been to the Olympics three times, you know? And you were part of the Magnificent Seven in 1996 in Atlanta, do people still call you "Awesome Dawsome?" Because that is a great nickname by the way.
Dominique Dawes 1:50
It is a pretty cool nickname and honestly I wish people did but no not at all. I mean my fans will, people that grew up watching me from grandparents, parents, even young kids that get to know me now at my gymnastics and Ninja Academy. I think it's a wonderful nickname, but no one in my household calls me that.
Kenny Curtis 2:07
So, the kids didn't go Awesome Dawesome? They're not, like wow awesome!
Dominique Dawes 2:12
No, when I'm telling my kids to clean their room or eat their vegetables they are not referring to me as Awesome Dawesome.
Kenny Curtis 2:18
Less than Awesome Dawsome.
Dominique Dawes 2:19
Less than Awesome Dawsome, more mom.
Kenny Curtis 2:22
And, that is probably how it should be. That's perfectly fine. So, but you know it's been a while I mean we just had an Olympics obviously and there was a lot of excitement, drama, adventure around the gymnastics competition in the Tokyo Olympics. How do you think this sport is different now than it was when you were doing it back in the day?
Dominique Dawes 2:45
Yeah, well I'm sure your listeners do know the name Simone Biles, and she was one of the top competitors at these previous Olympic Games and my Olympic Games were 30, nearly 30 years ago, and 25 years ago, and 21 years ago, and so your listeners might not recall me. However, I do feel blessed to have played a role indirectly in inspiring the likes of Simone Biles to be the amazing champion that she is. And during these Olympic Games, there was a great deal of talk with regards to mental health. And I think it's such an important dialogue to have that young people need to feel comfortable saying that they're not okay that if they're feeling a great deal of pressure or stress, or you know, maybe that they're just not completely happy and they don't love what they're doing anymore, or they're fearful of their physical health, which is what Simone Biles talked about. When she pulled out of these Olympic Games, he said she was concerned with regards to her mental health, making sure that she felt okay in her head and then also her physical health and she was fearful that she could injure herself and doing the very difficult gymnastics maneuvers that she did. And so she pulled out of the team competition, really to support her team, she said because she felt like she wouldn't have been the greatest teammate on the floor competing. So if you watch the Olympic Games, she was off the floor and she was everyone's biggest cheerleader hugging, high-fiving, laughing, and cheering for them. And I thought it was such a beautiful thing to see as a former Olympian, myself and a mom of four kids, that she didn't make it all about herself, but she really focused on supporting her teammates. And that's what allowed Suni Lee to win a gold medal.
Kenny Curtis 4:27
Yeah, it's such a great, great story. It's interesting because the development of an athlete, you know, the person that's out there, you know, obviously, using their body to achieve a goal is something that we think about a lot as parents. But, gymnasts are very young. I mean, you know, you were like what 10 when you started and it's hard on your body, but it's also got to be hard on your mind. If you're afraid, you mentioned that maybe Simone Biles was worrying that she was gonna get hurt. Is it harder or maybe more dangerous to participate in some of the events that you're supposed to participate in, in gymnastics if you are afraid?
Dominique Dawes 5:12
Oh, you know, fear is a factor in the sport of gymnastics. Just envision standing on a four-inch wide balance beam that's four feet off the ground and your coaches are telling you to do a backflip, or your coaches are telling you to walk across the beam and it's your first time doing it, there is a great deal of fear and you have to develop the mental strength as well as the courage to face those fears. But you want to be able to face those fears in a very healthy environment, which really does lack right now in a lot of the gyms out there in our nation. So the mental portion is huge in the sport of gymnastics that you have to develop the courage and the thing is you want to have your children and young people you want to develop the courage in a healthy supportive environment with teachers, coaches, parents, priests, that are there supporting you every step of the way, and encouraging you with loving words and being a positive role model and not someone intimidating you or yelling at you or forcing you or coercing you to do something that you don't feel as if you're ready for and that's why I thought it was a beautiful thing. Again, as a three-time Olympic gymnast and Olympic gold medalist, to watch Simone Biles said she was okay with saying no, she listened to her inner voice. She didn't listen necessarily to what her coaches were saying or what USA Gymnastics would have wanted her to do. But she listened to Simone. And she said no, I'm not okay, I'm not ready to do this. And a number of people looked at her as being a coward or being weak. But if you look at this individual and what she's gone through in her life, as a person, and also as an athlete, being an Olympic champion, and World Champion in a, you know, a 10-time national champion, she's a very courageous person, but at this time, she felt as if it was best for her to say no, and that was the wisest decision that she could make for herself.
Kenny Curtis 7:03
Well, you've got a gymnastics Academy right now that you've opened. And I saw what I imagine, you're probably specifically able to speak to some of the great benefits that young people can get from participating in gymnastics, even if they never make it to the Olympic podium, which the vast majority of us will not. But there are a lot of good things that gymnastics can teach kids and families, right?
Dominique Dawes 7:28
Well, let me tell you this, I started the gym, because I don't like what's out there. I started the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics and Ninja Academy, primarily to give young kids, boys and girls, a healthy environment in the sport of gymnastics, it is not about building Olympic champions. It is not about building this competitive team where it's all about dominating and winning. But, it's really about teaching every young kid that walks through our doors, how special they are, how gifted they are, how amazing they are. And so it's about planting these positive seeds in each and every kid that walks through our doors. We're trying to make sports, you know, focus on building the whole child's physical health, mental health, emotional health, and social health, especially during a global pandemic. That is really the reason why myself, my husband, and our four kids started this academy.
Kenny Curtis 8:22
It sounds like it's an amazing journey. Congratulations on getting it going. And I think it's really wonderful that you want to provide kids and families, you know, entire families really with this opportunity to sort of empowering people in that way. And that leads me to think about International Day of the Girl, which was last week, you know, is there something specific that you would say to, let's say, kids, like, a young person today? Or the 10-year-old Dominique? What would you say to them, to remind them how important and how special they are?
Dominique Dawes 8:54
You know, I used to give messages to kids. And I realized there's only so much power a young kid has. And so my message is to the parents, the parents need to recognize that they are their kids’ role models very much in life, and you determine who influences and impacts your kids, and what seeds are planted in your kids’ lives. And so it's very important for parents to do their due diligence and not just sign their kids up in a program. And you need to be able to create that safe space. So your children can say, Hey, I'm not happy here, or I'm treated this way or I'm yelled at all the time, Mom, I'm very fearful. And you know what, Mom or Dad, it's not worth it. Take them out of that environment and find healthier coaches. And if it means that they don't progress as fast or they're not on top of the podium, so be it, your kid will end up happier and healthier in the long run when they're influenced by the right people.
Kenny Curtis 9:52
So well said. Dominique Dawes, just thank you so much for taking the time to do this, and congratulations again, on still being Awesome Dawesome.
Dominique Dawes 10:01
Or mom, more importantly, mom.
Kenny Curtis 10:04
And, mom, how about that? You're both.
Dominique Dawes 10:06
Well, thank you so much, guys. I truly do appreciate it.
Bethany Van Delft 10:16
Okay, get ready. It's time for...
Various Voices 10:18
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 10:21
Trivia on The Ten. Gymnasts like Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton became famous for their perfect 10 scores when they competed in the 1970s and '80s. Why did the gymnastic scoring system change to the two-score system used today? Was it a) TV networks wanted more numbers to show on the screen during competitions, b) gymnasts trying harder routines weren't getting rewarded for their efforts, or c) the judges wanted to make it more confusing for the athletes?
Bethany Van Delft 11:03
Did you guess it? The answer is B. In 2006, the scoring system for men's and women's gymnastics changed. Instead of a single score, the athletes now have two scores, one for the difficulty of their routines and one for the execution. Under the old scoring system, if a gymnast attempted a difficult move, they were scored the same as someone doing an easier routine with better execution. What? With the updated scoring a gymnast like Simone Biles earns additional points for how amazingly difficult her routines are compared to the other competitors. Nice. Time's up. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeart Radio. The Ten News creative team is practicing our dismounts and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Andrew Hall, and Nathalie Alonso. Correspondent Kenny Curtis contributed to this episode. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News.
