My grandfather Frank A Smith was slated to join the 1912 US Olympic team as a pole vaulter, except he broke his leg during the trials. The event in Oslo was won by a 4.02 meter effort by Marc Wright from Cambridge, MA. He was probably from Harvard.
For two generations nobody in my family ever came close to Olympic glory.
All that changed with Emily Cook, a high-flying ski aerialist, who will be competing in Sochi.
She is my sister-in-law’s niece.
I know it isn’t blood, but we’re all family.
Go for the Gold, Emily.