PITTSBURGH — “Kids aren’t born Olympians. It’s a lot of work. It’s a long road.”
From early morning training sessions to competitions around the world, families must make sacrifices for Olympic hopefuls to make it to the world stage.
John and Tracy Grady are looking forward to cheering on their son, Michael, as he competes for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics.
“It’s a huge roller coaster. You know, up, down, up, down ... you never know,” said John Grady, Michael’s father.
“Plus, they delayed it a year, so it prolonged the training and selection process,” said Tracy Grady, Michael’s mother.
Michael Grady, a Pittsburgh native and Central Catholic graduate, is competing in four-man rowing.
His father, always knew his son would succeed in the sport.
“I said, ‘Michael, I want you leave North Allegheny High School and row for a friend of mine, Jay Hammond. He said you would be really good at it.’ Michael said, ‘OK, I still want to play football and lacrosse,’ but a month in, he was like, ‘this is all I want to do.’ He quit all other sports,” said John Grady.
Michael rowed all four years at Central Catholic. He even won a national title. But for Michael, the road to the Olympic Games, like for many athletes, wasn’t easy.
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“He sacrificed a lot to get to be able to do this. So, I admire him and respect him for that, and what he’s gone through to get there,” said John Grady.
Michael’s road to Tokyo was partly driven my his mother, who logged many miles in her car.
“Tracy, you know, drove him to Central Catholic times a day through rush-hour traffic. He was in the morning drive down to practice. Wait for practice to end, drive to Central Catholic, and then come home. That’s all rush hour. Then, she would go down to Central Catholic to pick him up, travel to the boathouse, come back to Wexford, and then two hours later, drive back down to pick him up,” said John Grady.
Tracy Grady says it is what you do as a mother, and she is proud to see her son represent his country and Pittsburgh.
“I’ll probably cry,” said Tracy Grady.