By: Felix Xie
Beacon, a golden retriever, started working with U.S.A. Gymnastics to help alleviate the athletes’ stress at the gymnastics Trials and to change the toxic nature of the sport.
A week before this week’s U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials, a very eager worker arrived in the host city of Minneapolis with protein treats, an assemblage of bandannas, and a stuffed animal turtle. When he arrived, he received a U.S.A. Gymnastics badge to wear around his neck, identifying him as “Goodest boy.”
His name is Beacon, and he is a 4-year-old golden retriever therapy dog tasked with the mission to destress the competitors at major Gymnastics events.
“Beacon, I just love you so much!” national team gymnast Joscelyn Roberson said as she rested next to him for 30 minutes after a training session at the recent national championships in Fort Worth. “He’s so cute! I’ve already told people that this is the best thing that U.S.A. Gymnastics can do for us.”
Beacon, who is handled by his human, Tracey Callahan Molnar, a former rhythmic gymnast and a longtime coach, introduces a warm and fuzzy aspect to the meet in an effort by U.S.A. Gymnastics to change a culture that is infamous for its abuse.
For example, at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast in history, scratched most of her events because of a mental block—a move that made her famous for what she did not accomplish at the games as much as what she did as the most decorated athlete in her sport.
“There’s no question that there was a lesson learned from Tokyo in terms of mental wellness being so critically important,” Li Li Leung, chief executive of U.S.A. Gymnastics, said. “But if we just launch a therapy dog program, OK, great, you have a nice, cute fuzzy dog to pet. But it doesn’t mean anything unless you have everything else in place.”
Since taking over in 2019, Leung, a former elite gymnast and a former N.B.A. executive, has focused on trying to change the culture of the sport. She has made strides, but it’s a never-ending process, she said.
Now, sponsors have returned, including Nike, Xfinity, Samsonite and Skippy, and Leung said that all the federation’s sponsors must acknowledge that some of their money will go to mental wellness programs, including therapy visits for coaches and athletes.