The unsung hero of the Olympic-champion US women's gymnastics team is a very good boy

[Bundbuster]

Beacon, a golden retriever therapy dog, was a crucial part of the Americans’ preparations for the Olympics as he helped soothe athletes’ nerves

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/aug/06/beacon-usa-gymnastics-therapy-dog

Their rock-star showing over the past week in Paris might have had something to do with the sugar rush from the French pastries that Biles has been raving about on social media. Or one could look to another hack: their time spent with Beacon, the four-year-old golden retriever who has been trotting around with America’s best and brightest gymnasts for the past year with the aim of helping keep their serotonin and stress levels in check.

With his fluffy butterscotch coat, eyes as soulful as Leonard Cohen and the official credential that hangs around his neck and reads “Goodest Boy”, Beacon has earned celebrity standing in both gymnastic and dog-loving circles. “This dog has touched Simone Biles” is how a starstruck TikTok about him jumps into action. None other than Tokyo Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee, whose journey to the starting line in Paris was anything but straightforward, posted a picture of herself with the shiny-nosed pooch from the trials. “Thank god for Beacon,” read her caption, helping launch him to stardom. The Instagram account @WeRateDogs gave the Covid-era Twitter heavy Room Rater a run for its money when it awarded Beacon a mathematically defying score of 14/10.

Beacon is just one of part of USA Gymnastics’ long-overdue mental health program. In addition to therapy pets, the initiative also includes mindfulness sessions and a team of therapists who are at the ready to work with athletes. In light of the sexual abuse scandal involving team doctor Larry Nassar that rocked American gymnastics, and Biles’s momentous decision to pull out of the US team at the Tokyo Olympics in order to focus on her mental health, Beacon’s emergence on the scene, however low to the ground and furry, feels far from frivolous. Elite gymnastics has a lot to make up for.

Beacon is accompanied by his human, the former rhythmic gymnastics coach Tracey Callahan Molnar. In addition to being gentle and patient with young athletes who want to rest their cheeks on his soft, warm coat, Beacon possesses remarkable powers of intuition and empathy. “He picks up on the stress and will pull to that person immediately,” Molnar told ESPN.