I watched my daughter win Olympic gold. There's a lot no one sees on TV, but it was the experience of a lifetime.

"My first assignment at the 2016 Summer Olympics was to deliver a package. My second was to find a food mart that sold bottled water. I wasn't working the event, though. My "job" was being the parent of an Olympic athlete. My daughter, Gwen Jorgensen, was set to compete in the women's triathlon, and our family had flown from Wisconsin to Rio de Janeiro to support her."

"Though we'd watched her compete in London four years prior, she was favored to win this time, putting added pressure on her and our family. Supporting an Olympic athlete during the Games isn't as glamorous as some might expect. When our family arrived at the airport, my first thought wasn't about wandering the city or soaking up the sun on the beach."

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, a parent performed practical support tasks for an elite athlete, handling errands rather than tourist activities. The athlete stayed at a Copacabana hotel to be near the triathlon start line. The parent delivered a package, bought multiple gallons of bottled water because the athlete avoids ice, tap water, and some local foods, and retrieved sponsor items like energy drinks, clothes, and sunglasses. The athlete's schedule included swimming, biking, running workouts, an interview, a massage, and a nap, leaving only brief moments for family contact. Anxiety and sleeplessness intensified the night before the race.

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