When I met Sarah Robles in NYC with her mother and heard their story, it was an emotional meeting. I listened to Sarah talk about how hard she works and the sacrifices her family has had to make, and it made me cry. They weren’t sad tears, they were tears of “wow-you-go-girl” tears. They were tears of compassion. Hearing Sarah talk about her dedication, devotion and determination for weightlifting was inspirational.

I asked Sarah’s mother during the interview, “When did you know Sarah was different? And I mean ‘different’ in terms of, stronger than the average girl and that she had potential to go far and being a true elite athlete.”

Her mother smiled and answered that when Sarah was 3 years old, she asked her to help her carry in the groceries one day. She looked back and saw Sarah walking into their home with a 12-pack of soda in one arm and a 12-pack of soda in the other. She said she knew there was something special about Sarah’s strength right then and there.

What touched my heart the most was hearing Mrs. Robles say that she hasn’t been able to see Sarah compete much because of finances. It breaks my heart to think that money prevents a mother from seeing her child compete. It WARMED me heart to hear P&G give each Olympian mom a stipend because that money goes such a long way and will allow so many families, like the Robles’, to see Sarah compete.

I have bee rooting for Sarah stateside and was so excited to see her video from P&G…

And it was lovely to see these photos of Sarah at the P&G Family Home in London!

And especially with her mother… !