“I watch the women and if they’re animated when they see him, I’ll walk toward them,” Molnar told ESPN. “Tonight, some called him over or came to him on their own… He picks up on the stress and will pull to that person immediately.”

She said the golden retriever was exhausted after a day of comforting the gymnasts, but the work was worth it: “I think we did important work. It was a rough night for some of the gymnasts, and I think Beacon helped celebrate the good stuff and be there and give support for the challenges.”

 

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Bài viết do beacon miller & tulsa luna (@goldendogbeacon) chia sẻ

The therapy dog program comes amidst a growing conversation about the mental health of Olympic athletes, especially gymnasts. Gymnastics can be as mentally stressful as it is physically challenging, and many of its hopefuls are young teenage girls. Many gymnasts have alleged emotional and verbal abuse from their coaches.

But in recent years, more athletes and coaches have been putting mental wellness at the forefront, most prominently Olympics legend Simone Biles, who pulled out of most of her events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after experiencing a mental block called the “twisties.”

“Over the last several years, our athletes have consistently told us that what they would like more of is mental health support, as well as nutritional support,” Jill Geer, USAG’s chief communications and marketing officer, told USA Today.

“They’ve turned things around entirely and now they are clearly thinking, ‘What does the athlete need?’ and it’s so nice,” three-time Olympian and coach Sam Mikulak told the New York Times.

“Sometimes, just being there is all someone needs to get through a tough time. And a dog brings that triple-fold.”

 

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Bài viết do beacon miller & tulsa luna (@goldendogbeacon) chia sẻ

Since the Olympic trials, Beacon has become the furry face of the changing attitudes in the sport, as photos and videos of him comforting gymnasts went viral. He’s not the only therapy dog in the program, but he’s emerged as the breakout star.

“There are several other dogs, but Beacon is 100% the star of the show. He is literally the Beacon of this program,” Geer said. “I joke that Beacon needs an agent because there are more requests for Beacon than just about any other athlete out there.”

 

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Bài viết do beacon miller & tulsa luna (@goldendogbeacon) chia sẻ

He’s been called the MVP of the team — that’s “Most Valuable Pup” — and Molnar said that one of the gymnasts suggested his title be CHO, “Chief Happiness Officer.”

“Just to listen to some of the gymnasts talk about it, it’s a healthy distraction. It gets their mind off of the intensity of the stress of their competition,” she told KXAN.

Despite his popularity, Beacon couldn’t travel to Paris with Team USA — while efforts were made, it proved to be logistically impossible. Molnar wrote on Instagram that she and Beacon would be “cheering our Olympians on from California.”

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