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Velonews reports that former champion cyclist Twigg got a CS degree but wasn't too successful in that career, and is now homeless in Seattle, https://www.velonews.com/2019/04/news/now-homeless-twigg-opens-up-in-article-with-seattle-times_492734 A longer version of the story/interview appears in the Seattle Times, https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/olympic-medal-winning-cyclist-rebecca-twigg-is-homeless-in-seattle/
Rebecca Twigg has now been without a home for almost five years in Seattle, living first with friends and family, then in her car, then in homeless shelters and then, for a night, under garbage bags on the street downtown. She hasn't had a bike for years, and no one recognizes her anymore, she says.
Twigg, 56, agreed to share her story to convince the public that not all homeless people are addicted to drugs or alcohol; that there are many like her, who have struggled with employment and are "confused," as she said she is, about what to do next with their lives. She did not want to discuss mental health but feels it should be treated more seriously in Washington.
"Some of the hard days are really painful when you're training for racing," Twigg said, "but being homeless, when you have little hope or knowledge of where the finish line is going to be, is just as hard."
[...] She was spotted at 17 by famous cycling coach Eddie Borysewicz. After she won the world championship, he invited her to live in the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and train for the 1984 Olympic Games, where for the first time, women would be competing on bicycles.
Americans dominated the Olympics that year. Twigg won a silver medal, missing gold by a few inches to famous racer Connie Carpenter. She continued on her way up over the next several years, setting world records, winning world titles, and racing more than 60 times a year. She became known for her competition in individual pursuit, where two cyclists start at the same time on opposite sides of the track and each tries to catch the other. She's still among the most-decorated athletes in pursuit.
But the breakneck pace couldn't continue forever. She was married and soon after divorced. She crashed in Texas, broke her thumb and got 13 stitches in her head. The following year she felt burned out. She took a break at age 26, and that year she grew an entire inch, possibly because her body no longer had to expend so much energy training.
Twigg got an associate degree in computer science and became a programmer for a seaweed-products company in San Diego.
Twigg says the career wasn't a perfect fit. She quit and started training for the 1992 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal in the 3,000-meter pursuit after only nine months of training. As she entered her 30s, she became regarded as the best American female cyclist.
The article has more details, she tried other IT jobs, but (not surprisingly to me) it sounds like her heart wasn't really in it.
If you were in her spot, what would you do for a second act, after such stunning early success in international sports? Some former athletes become motivational speakers or coaches, but she may not be the "self promoter" type, relying on her skill/strength for her success instead of team politics.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday April 17 2019, @01:58PM (2 children)
It's an emotional story, yes. I'd say there are multiple points to it. They include:
* Just because one is capable of reaching pinnacles of success in a field does not mean one will be successful in life. Or that one cannot still harbor issues that can bring one down. We might know that because MDC was here (or have learned it elsewhere), but that doesn't mean everybody does. And it might be good to be reminded of that anyway.
* Homeless people are people and can have daughters and families and yet be homeless. You might know that, but that doesn't mean everybody believes that in a practical sense. It's not an uncommon pattern that the homeless have relatives, or churches, or other structures that can no longer provide support because reasons.
* There is quite a bit that can be done for (or perhaps better, with) persons with mental disabilities or pathologies. Yet most such problems take cooperation of the person to recognize what is wrong and want to do something about it. Even without cures services can still be provided.
* Attention should be called to the places that are involved with homeless care. So that when we choose not to spend money on them, or choose to cut away budgets to make the rich richer, we have a better idea of who is truly injured by such choices.
* When one's pride is taken away (or given up) how does one move on from there. (And making such choices can lead to identity confusion). What should one do when pride may not be something one can't (or shouldn't) afford given one's challenges in Maslow's hierarchy?
* Just because one is successful does not mean that one is grounded - it sounds like she spent a long time with many residences and attempts to have a life, but no real home or an understanding of what makes up basic survival and security. But I'd guess you're being so fundamentally grounded may slip by that there are others who might have reasons they are not (or cannot be?)
As to futility.... Perhaps the overwhelming element of this narrative is to silently ask what is and is not futile. What might you do differently about the Rebecca Twiggs in your community, because they likely exist.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday April 17 2019, @02:35PM (1 child)
It's not very silent an asking.
My take here is stories don't tell us much. Current homelessness is somewhere [endhomelessness.org] around 500-600k homeless in the US out of 330 million people. One could have five orders of magnitude less homelessness or three orders of magnitude more, and still have dozens of sad stories.
What I can say from the above data is that it's a small fraction. Even with the problems these people currently face, the US isn't doing badly with rates a little above 1 in 1000 people. Perhaps we should also reflect on what we're doing right?
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday April 17 2019, @03:58PM
Yes, we should reflect on what we're doing right. And in the subtext of the story, for example, are things like day shelters as well as night ones. It's in the background since the focus of the article is about a person and not the system, but it's there.
Is this isolated story representative? Is it objective truth about what homelessness is? I wouldn't say so - life is way more weird than any packaged narrative can relate. One could also contrast this story with that of Liz Murray [theguardian.com], and that our country can produce stories like those too. It's not all doom and gloom even if there is still work to do.
This sig for rent.